Bioinspired Twisted Brick–Mortar Composites for Adaptive Thermo‐Mechanical Impact Protection
Zimu Li, Liping Gong, Shuai Liu, Jiahao Li, Zhentao Zhang, Jianpeng Wu, Wenhui Wang, Baoqiang Zhang, Weihua Li, Sheng WangABSTRACT
Protective materials for harsh environments should dissipate transient impact energy while maintaining mechanical reliability under thermal fluctuations. Here, we report a bioinspired twisted brick–mortar composite that integrates a carbon‐nanotube‐reinforced photopolymer framework with a mechanically active shear‐stiffening gel mortar. The continuously twisted brick architecture redistributes stress waves and guides crack deflection, whereas reversible interfacial hydrogen bonding and dynamic boron–oxygen crosslinking enable rate‐dependent molecular dissipation. This structural–molecular coupling provides efficient impact protection, delivering a low energy transfer rate of 7.38% under high‐strain‐rate compression and reducing the residual impact force from 20°C to 100°C. The carbon‐nanotube‐containing framework further provides photothermal responsiveness, allowing reversible stifhefness modulation, adaptive force buffering, and shape recovery after localized high‐speed impacts. Together, these results establish a bioinspired twisted brick–mortar design strategy for adaptive thermo‐mechanical impact protection.