Constructing Soft‐Hard Multiscale Structures in Kevlar Fiber/Hydrogel Composites for High‐Speed Impact Resistance

ABSTRACT High‐speed impact, including explosions, stabbings, and ballistic penetration, poses significant threats to human safety, necessitating the development of high‐performance impact‐resistant materials. In this study, an organic–inorganic copolymerization strategy is proposed to synthesize a hydrogel with microcosmic soft‐hard components, which displays good impact resistance (12,500 s ⁻¹ , 188 MPa) without damage at high strain rates. Moreover, when combined with Kevlar fiber, soft‐hard multiscale structures from molecular to macroscale have been constructed, which exhibit excellent impact energy dissipation capacity (88.67 MJ/m ³ ) and impact resistance (5000 s ⁻¹ , 394.62 MPa) under high strain rates. This work demonstrates that the Kevlar fiber/hydrogel composite by incorporation of soft‐hard multiscale structures holds substantial potential for safeguarding against high‐speed impact.