Toward improved performances of para-aramid (PPTA) paper-based nanomaterials via aramid nanofibers(ANFs) and ANFs-film

Para-aramid (PPTA) paper serves as the promising candidate for the heat-resistance insulating material and lightened-weight structure component due to its impressive mechanical property, inherent dielectric strength and thermal durability. However, the chemical inertness and the smooth surface of PPTA fibers lead to poor interfacial adhesion and inferior quality of PPTA paper. Here, for the first time, a facile and promising strategy to significantly improve the performances of the PPTA paper via incorporating the aramid nanofibers (ANFs) or laminating with the ANFs-film is proposed. The microstructures, mechanical properties, dielectric strength and reinforcing mechanisms of the resultant PPTA papers were investigated. PPTA paper with 6.0 wt% ANFs shows improved ultimate strength and dielectric strength (145.1% and 44.1% increases, respectively) than the pristine PPTA paper due to the interfacial bonding improvement of the ANFs serve as the bridging binders, fillers, inlaying nails and self-assembly films. Moreover, the adhesive-free ANFs-films laminated PPTA papers with tailored structures also exhibit remarkable mechanical and dielectric strength. The results indicate the great potential of ANFs or ANFs-film as a new class of reinforcements for PPTA paper, and also paves a promising way to fabricate high-performance paper-based nanomaterials, such as insulating materials and flexible display materials, etc.