High-strength and damage-resistant ceramic nanowire Bouligand Architectures

Lightweight, high-strength, safe and reliable porous ceramics have broad application prospects in aerospace, defense industry, vehicle engineering, energy and other fields. However, traditional porous ceramics are brittle and highly susceptible to catastrophic failures, which significantly reduces their service safety. Here, inspired by the dactyl clubs of Odontodactylus scyllarus in nature, high-strength and damage-resistant ceramic nanowire Bouligand structures were fabricated by 3D printing and subsequent enhancement. The biomimetic Bouligand structures are comprised of 3D SiC nanowire networks, which are reinforced by pyrolytic carbon and SiC nanocrystal coatings. The ceramic nanowire Bouligand structure with a rotation angle of 15° display damage resistance under compressive loading, and demonstrate optimized strength (11 MPa) and Young's modulus (366 MPa). Furthermore, the Bouligand structure shows an ultra-low thermal conductivity (0.052 W·m⁻¹·k⁻¹). This work presents a viable additive manufacturing route for fabrication of high performance porous ceramic materials with promising applications in energy absorption, lightweight structural components, and thermal insulation related fields.