Influence of the graphene oxide nanosheet on tensile behavior and failure characteristics of the cement composites after high-temperature treatment

Abstract Graphene oxide (GO) has great potential in enhancing the strength and durability of cement-based materials due to its superior nano properties. While existing studies focus on ambient-condition enhancements, the thermal stability of GO enhanced systems remains unexplored. This investigation systematically evaluates the thermal performance and failure mechanisms of GO-modified cement composite under elevated temperatures. The results show that after high-temperature degradation, the tensile strength of cement-based materials optimized with GO can be increased by 6.5–46.8%. The nucleation and pore-infilling effects of GO nanosheets can be better demonstrated under the condition of high-temperature degradation. The acoustic emission and surface characterization results suggest that the addition of GO can transform a large-scale violent disruption into multiple small-scale disruptions and significantly reinforce the integrity of the hardened cement matrix. Microscopic tests have shown that GO nanosheets optimize the matrix of cement-based materials and suppress the propagation of microcracks during their fracture process. The fractal dimension value of the optimized GO sample is smaller than that of the unoptimized sample. The enhanced thermal stability and fracture integrity of GO-modified cement materials highlight their potential for improving fire resistance in high-temperature engineering applications.