Ductile behavior of a penta-boron nitride nanosheet triggered by structure transition for enhancing hydrogels

Boron nitride nanosheet (BNNS) is an attractive nanomaterial to improve polymeric materials in hydrogels due to their high mechanical properties, robust interfacial properties with polymer, and non-toxicity. However, the mismatching deformation capacity between BNNS and hydrogels results in damage to the BNNS-hydrogels interface and deteriorates the tensile properties of BNNS reinforced hydrogels. By adopting nanotechnology, the brittle nature of BNNSs can be modified. A novel penta-BNNS exhibits pentagonal rings, presenting ductile behavior under tensile deformation. The tensile test is performed by molecular dynamics simulations. The simulation results show that the ultimate failure strain of the penta-BNNS is significantly increased, which is attributed to the structure transition of the pentagonal rings in the penta-BNNS under tensile deformation. Due to the structure transition, the deformation capacity of the penta-BNNS is significantly improved with respect to the hexa-BNNS. This study links the structure to ductile behavior, which helps to devise advanced two-dimensional nanomaterials for improving hydrogels. © 2023 The Author(s).