Fast and Massive Production of Aramid Nanofibers via Molecule Intercalation

Abstract

Para-aramid nanofibers, one of the newest high-performance building blocks at the nanoscale, have attracted great attention due to their hard-to-find property sets and ability to form high-porosity solids. However, there are great difficulties in their scalable and sustainable production because the strong intermolecular hydrogen bonds and other interactions of aramid macromolecules lead to lengthy processes with highly corrosive solvents. Taking advantage of uniquely efficient delamination of polymer nanocrystallites, here we show that the preparation time of para-aramid nanofibers can be reduced by 2520 times (from 1 week to four min), while their concentration can be increased by 10 times. Through this molecule intercalation-induced method, novel ribbon-like aramid nanofibers are prepared. The multiscale modeling indicated that delamination of nanofibers occurs via intercalation of alcohols at nanoscale interfaces. 1000 kg nanofiber dispersions were successfully prepared within half an hour in a pilot-scale test. These findings demonstrate the realism of effective aramid recycling into a wide range of multifunctional nanofiber composites.