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The growing awareness of the environmental damage caused by petroleum-based fibres has led to an increase in renewable and biodegradable resources. The continually growing demand for eco-friendly and sustainable materials pushes automakers and material researchers to consider the ecological importance of their materials during fabricating, recovering, and disposal. Natural fibre-reinforced composites (NFRC) have been introduced into the automobile market substantially over the last ten years due to their renewability, eco-friendliness, recyclability, biodegradability, light weight, better specific strength, good resistance to impact and corrosion, abundantly available, ease of processing, and cost-effectiveness. Due to cost-effectiveness and weight reduction, NFRC is becoming a better replacement for petroleum/synthetic fibres like aramid, kevlar, carbon, and glass fibre-reinforced composites, and the transportation sector has instigated the use of these materials in many applications like car interiors and exteriors, dash boards, bumpers, spoilers, seat covers, and mirror casings. NFRC with nanofillers is gaining more attention in the field of engineering, particularly for automotive, defense, building, and construction applications due to better aspect ratio, larger surface area, and attractive properties. The mechanical, tribological, and thermal properties of plant fibre-reinforced composites can be improved through the incorporation of organic or inorganic nanofillers. The present review profoundly explores the effects of various factors influencing NFRC with nanofillers. This paper also summarises the effects of various chemical reagents, fabrication techniques, and industrial applications of NFRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphene and its derivatives have excellent properties such as high surface area, thermal, and mechanical strength, and this fact made the researchers promote them as the possible filler material for fiber-matrix composite. The current research deals with validation on the effect of graphene oxide boron nitride filler over mechanical and thermal stability of epoxy glass fiber polymer matrix composite. The objective of this experimental investigation is to develop glass fiber reinforced polymer composites with hybrid filler addition. The matrix material selected is epoxy resin, whereas the glass fiber is selected as reinforcement, while boron nitride and graphene oxide are chosen as fillers. Compression moulding methodology is followed to develop the composites with the constant percentage of fiber loading, graphene oxide filler, and varying boron nitride content from 0 to 3 wt.% at an equal interval of 1 wt.%. The developed composite is analyzed for mechanical properties, and the fractured surface is analyzed through the scanning electron microscope. The addition of hybrid fillers enhances the fiber-matrix bonding strength and improves the thermal and mechanical properties up to a specific limit. Thermal gravimetric analysis was conducted to understand the thermal behavior of composite. The results revealed that the addition of filler improved the thermal stability of the composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of nanomaterials as a strengthening agent in the fabrication of polymer nanocomposites has gained significant attention due to distinctive properties which can be utilised in structural applications. In this study, reduced graphene oxide (r-GO) and montmorillonite (MMT) nanoclay were used as filler materials to fabricate hybrid epoxy-based nanocomposites. The synergistic effect of nanomaterials on flammability and mechanical behaviour of nanocomposites were studied. Results revealed that the addition of nanofiller showcases 97% and 44.5% improvement in tensile and flexural strength. However, an increment in the percentage of filler material over 0.3% exhibits a decremental mechanical property trend. Likewise, the addition of nanofiller increases the nonignition timing of the glass-fibre-reinforced epoxy composites. Fracture surface morphology displays the occurrence of the ductile fracture mechanism owing to the presence of hybrid fillers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]