Poly(P‐Phenylene Terephthalamide) Fibers Reinforced with Ultrathin Ceramic Coatings

The poly(p‐phenylene terephthalamide) (PPTA) fibers are engineering polymer materials with high strength and stiffness, lightweight, and outstanding fatigue characteristics. However, these materials exhibit drawbacks, namely, anisotropic mechanical strength along the tensile and compressive directions. In particular, they show low compressive strength, and mismatched thermal expansion as well as moisture uptake and oxidative stability along the axial and radial directions. Here, the authors describe a hybrid material approach by integrating ultrathin ceramic coatings (alumina or silica) onto PPTA fibers to enhance their compressive modulus by 2.5 times. In addition, these ceramic coating improve the energy absorption, thermal conductivity, and chemical stability of PPTA fibers, while their flexibility and lightweight are preserved. This strategy provides a new route for the preparation of high performance polymer fibers for advanced engineering applications.