Enhancement of mechanical characteristics of glass fiber composite by reinforcement of boron nitride and graphene oxide nanosheets

Glass fiber composites (GFCs) have garnered significant attention owing to their outstanding properties, such as low density, high strength, and flexibility, making them suitable for advanced aerospace applications. Enhancing their mechanical performance is vital to expand their industrial applicability. This study explores the reinforcement of two-dimensional (2D) boron nitride (BN) and graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets via the Hand lay-up method to improve the mechanical strength of GFCs. The findings indicate that incorporating GO nanosheets significantly enhanced toughness and impact resistance, achieving comparable improvements in impact energy absorption of 18.4% for BN and GO at a 0.1% nanosheet concentration. At a higher concentration of 0.2%, GO exhibited superior impact absorption enhancements of up to 44.5% compared to 27.4% for BN and GO, respectively. Conversely, BN nanosheets were notably effective in enhancing tensile strength by 17.4% at 0.1% concentration and flexural strength by 49.1% at the same concentration from the pure sample without 2D nanosheets, and on further increasing the percentage of 2D nanosheets, GFCs' tensile and flexural strength improve further. These findings underscore the potential of 2D nanosheet reinforcement to optimize the mechanical performance of GFCs, offering valuable insights for their broader industrial adoption.