Coral reefs-inspired strategy for hierarchical prussian blue derived nickel phyllosilicate architecture: Efficient flame retardancy and mechanical reinforcement of epoxy nanocomposites

The development of epoxy (EP) nanocomposites has emerged as a prominent research area across diverse sectors, including automotive, construction, and aerospace industries. Recently, adopting biomimetic strategies for the preparation of nanomaterials to design multifunctional epoxy resins has emerged as a prominent research hotspot. Inspired by the growth pattern of coral reefs, this study successfully engineered a novel hierarchical nanostructured material (Fe-NiPS-PBA) with the aim of creating EP nanocomposites that exhibit highly flame-retardant efficiency, exceptional mechanical strength, and distinguished wear-resisting property even at low additive concentrations. With a 3 ​wt% addition of Fe-NiPS-PBA, the limiting oxygen index of the EP/3Fe-NiPS-PBA nanocomposite increased from 23.5 to 25.9, achieving a UL-94 V-0 rating. Compared to pure EP, EP/3Fe-NiPS-PBA nanocomposite reduced the peak heat release rate (PHRR), total heat release (THR), peak smoke production rate (PSPR), total smoke production (TSP), and maximum CO emission (MCO) by 44.1 ​%, 66.7 ​%, 47.0 ​%, 67.8 ​%, and 51.7 ​%, respectively. Moreover, the incorporation of a 1 ​wt% additive resulted in significant enhancements of tensile strength from 76.7 ​MPa to 96.9 ​MPa, while the wear rate demonstrated a remarkable reduction of 77.8 ​%. The Fe-NiPS-PBA significantly enhanced the fire performance and mechanical strength of EP nanocomposites, demonstrating exceptional overall performance in various applications. A novel hierarchical Fe-NiPS-PBA architecture was fabricated using a bio-inspired strategy based on the growth pattern of coral reefs. Subsequently, Fe-NiPS-PBA was incorporated into epoxy resin (EP) through a solution blending method to produce EP nanocomposites exhibiting exceptional flame retardancy, mechanical strength, and wear-resisting performance. The phase structure and layered morphology of Fe-NiPS-PBA were analyzed, and the positive effects on the flame retardancy, mechanical strength and wear-resisting performance of EP nanocomposites were evaluated in detail. • A coral reefs-inspired hierarchical Fe-NiPS-PBA was innovatively synthesized. • 3.0 ​wt% of Fe-NiPS-PBA enabled EP to achieve a UL-94 V-0 rating. • EP/3Fe-NiPS-PBA nanocomposite exhibited significant decrease in PHRR, THR, PSPR, TSP, MCO and MCO 2 . • The mechanical strength and wear-resisting properties of EP were greatly enhanced.