Synergic effect of graphene oxide and boron nitride on the mechanical properties of polyimide composite films

The addition of two-dimensional (2D) materials into polymers can improve their mechanical properties. In particular, graphene oxide (GO) and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) are expected to be potential nanoplatelet additives for polymers. Interactions between such nanoplatelets and polymers are effective in improving the above properties. However, no report has investigated the effect of using two types of nanoplatelets that have good interaction with polymers. In this study, we fabricated polyimide (PI) films that contain two types of nanoplatelets, amine-functionalized h-BN (BN<INF>NH<INF>2</INF></INF>) and GO. We have elucidated that the critical ratio and the content of BN<INF>NH<INF>2</INF></INF> and GO within PI govern the films' mechanical properties. When the BN<INF>NH<INF>2</INF></INF>/GO weight ratio was 52 : 1 and their content was 1 wt% in the PI film, the tensile modulus and tensile strength were increased by 155.2 MPa and 4.2 GPa compared with the pristine PI film.