Construction of high‐toughness and self‐healing gel‐matrix/aramid fabric soft composites with high‐performance puncture resistance.

In order to develop a soft composite with high‐performance puncture resistance and self‐healing property property, herein, we introduced Pluronic F127 diacrylate (F127DA) into titania‐based nanocomposite hydrogels (PAMT) and then compounded hydrogel and aramid fabric to form gel‐matrix soft composites (GMSCs). The result shows that, with the addition of 5 wt% TiO2 nanoparticles, the hydrogels exhibited a fracture strain of 3898%, a toughness of 12.23 MJ/m3 and a self‐healing efficiency of 99.45% after healing at 100°C for 12 h, indicating multiple recycling feature. In addition, a series of mechanical tests had shown that the resultant GMSCs exhibited incredible spike puncture resistance and knife puncture resistance, 17.66 times and 13.78 times greater than that of pure fabrics, and could achieve 33.84% spike puncture self‐healing efficiency and 26.62% knife puncture self‐healing efficiency. The synergetic reinforcement mechanism of the hydrogel and fabrics was also analyzed. This study provides a valuable reference for designing a puncture resistant soft composite with rapid self‐healing and repeated recycling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]