Polymers can be used in composite materials to enhance their strength and utility. Different types of composites have a wide range of uses, from sports equipment to jet aircraft. Kevlar is a tough aramid polymer that can be used in composite materials and can withstand a bullet. The structure of Kevlar, made up of an alignment of rigid molecules held in place by hydrogen bonds, leads to its valuable properties.
Kevlar is a particularly widely used aramid or polymeric aromatic amide. It is made from lightweight atoms but is very strong and flexible, weight for weight five times as strong as steel. Its strength comes from the way the polymer chains are aligned, the flat molecules being held together by hydrogen bonds. These sheets of molecules can stack up along the fibre axis (Figure 1).
Your organisation does not have access to this article.
Sign up today to give your students the edge they need to achieve their best grades with subject expertise
Subscribe
