Fig. 4: Mechanical tests.

a Details of the in-situ tensile test, including the architecture of the PTP devices (left, scale bar = 50 μm) and a high-magnification view of the specimen area (right, scale bar = 5 μm). b Snapshots from real-time movies capturing the entire tensile process (Model-1, scale bar = 1 μm). c Extracted stress-strain curves for Model-1, Model-2, and Model-3. d Details of the in-situ bending test, showing top view (top) and front view (bottom) during manipulation, where one end of the ceramic nanofiber (CNF) was fixed to a substrate and the other to a movable probe, then bent to determine the lowest radius of curvature (Model-3, scale bar = 10 μm). e Extracted radius of curvature (R_c) for Model-1, Model-2, and Model-3. Inset: schematic diagram of a single CNF showing different rotation rates of the tangent direction relative to the arc. f Stress field distribution in the nanocrystal region and its surrounding of the dual-phase structure (Model-3). The color scale represents the volumetric stress of each atom in the simulated system. g–h High-resolution transmission electron microscopy observations of Model-2 and Model-3 (scale bar = 10 nm). Inset: nanocrystals in the anatase form, with blue spheres representing Ti atoms and red spheres representing O atoms. i X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of the O 1s and Ti 2p spectra of Model-3. j Strategic assembly of Model-3 into two-dimensional (2D) membranes and three-dimensional (3D) aerogels, demonstrating macroscopic properties (scale bar = 1 cm): k high strength, l flexibility, and m compressibility. n Integration of high strength, superior flexibility and plasticity in CNFs enables the membrane to be folded into the shape of an aircraft (scale bar = 1 cm).