Gelatin-assisted fabrication of graphene-based nacre with high strength, toughness, and electrical conductivity

In this study, a high-performance graphene-based nacre was prepared using gelatin as a bioadhesive with the aid of the bending cycle-induced “mechanical annealed” effect. By this method, this type of graphene-based nacre is endowed with high strength, toughness, and electrical conductive properties, which is very different from other study where only one or two of three properties were improved. The maximum ultimate tensile strength can reach as high as ∼630.4 MPa when the optimal amount of gelatin was 30 wt%. Meanwhile, it has a high electrical conductivity of ∼42,624 S/m. Most notably, the periodic bending-induced “mechanical annealing” could further increase the ultimate tensile strength tremendously. After 100 cycles of periodic bending, the ultimate strength reached ∼902.1 MPa, with a high electrical conductivity of ∼44,780 S/m.