Mechanical properties of sisal fibre-reinforced polymer composites: a review

There has been a growing interest in the utilization of sisal fibres as reinforcement in the production of polymeric composite materials. Natural fibres have gained recognition as reinforcements in fibre polymer–matrix composites because of their mechanical properties and environmental friendliness. The mechanical properties of sisal fibre-reinforced polymer composites have been studied by many researchers and a few of them are discussed in this article. Various fibre treatments, which are carried out in order to improve adhesion, leading to improved mechanical properties, are also discussed in this review paper. This review also focuses on the influence of fibre content and fabrication methods, which can significantly affect the mechanical properties of sisal fibre-reinforced polymer composites.     

Polymer composite material characterisation using a laser/air-transducer system

A wide bandwidth 1–3 connectivity piezocomposite air transducer has been used to detect laser-generated ultrasound in a variety of composite materials. Through thickness waveforms in various carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite plates will be presented, as well as a selection of Lamb waves. Signals were also obtained in samples of pultruded glass fibre reinforced composite of different thickness. Using the laser/air-transducer system, images were obtained of machined defects and delaminations by conventional C-scanning methods, and tomographic reconstruction techniques.     

Physico-chemical characterization of the fibre/matrix interaction in polyethylene fibre/epoxy matrix composites

The interphase in polyethylene fibre/epoxy matrix composites is studied with FT-IR microspectroscopy using a set-up to investigate the matrix as close to the fibre as a few μm or less. It is shown that moisture present on the fibre surface is able to influence the polymerization reaction of the epoxy/anhydride matrix in an irreversible manner. This effect is enhanced for composites from the more hydrophilic polyvinylalcohol fibre. The fibre/matrix interaction in these thermoplastic fibre composites is also studied with DSC through the characterization of the fibre melting. A decreased 'DSC interaction parameter' is found if the composition of the interphase is changed by moisture. For a composite with an epoxy/amine matrix, on the other hand, the DSC interaction parameter is unaffected by moisture from the fibre surface.     

Material characterization of a nanocrystal based photovoltaic device

Nanocomposites have shown promise as the active layer for photovoltaic energy conversion. One example is the CdSe nanocrystal \polymer composite demonstrated by Hyunh and Greenham [#!Ref1!#,#!Ref2!#]. In this paper we investigate the baseline properties of the materials used in such a device. We present surface chemical information for CdSe nanocrystals and chemical analysis for poly-(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) polymer. Received 30 November 2000     

Effect of degumming time on silkworm silk fibre for biodegradable polymer composites

Recently, many studies have been conducted on exploitation of natural materials for modern product development and bioengineering applications. Apart from plant-based materials (such as sisal, hemp, jute, bamboo and palm fibre), animal-based fibre is a kind of sustainable natural materials for making novel composites. Silkworm silk fibre extracted from cocoon has been well recognized as a promising material for bio-medical engineering applications because of its superior mechanical and bioresorbable properties. However, when producing silk fibre reinforced biodegradable/bioresorbable polymer composites, hydrophilic sericin has been found to cause poor interfacial bonding with most polymers and thus, it results in affecting the resultant properties of the composites. Besides, sericin layers on fibroin surface may also cause an adverse effect towards biocompatibility and hypersensitivity to silk for implant applications. Therefore, a proper pre-treatment should be done for sericin removal. Degumming is a surface modification process which allows a wide control of the silk fibre's properties, making the silk fibre possible to be used for the development and production of novel bio-composites with unique/specific mechanical and biodegradable properties. In this paper, a cleaner and environmentally friendly surface modification technique for tussah silk in polymer based composites is proposed. The effectiveness of different degumming parameters including degumming time and temperature on tussah silk is discussed through the analyses of their mechanical and morphological properties. Based on results obtained, it was found that the mechanical properties of tussah silk are affected by the degumming time due to the change of the fibre structure and fibroin alignment.     

Droplet on a fibre: Surface tension and geometry

The formation of the microdroplets on fibres for the MDT test offers an opportunity to carry out surface tension measurements based on the angle of contact between the resin and the fibre. Liquid microdroplets of epoxy were deposited on glass fibres, and their diameter, length and cone angle were measured. The equilibrium shape of the droplet can be derived from the principle of conservation of work and energy. If the surface tension of the polymer droplet and the specific surface energy of the polymer coated fibre are similar, then the interfacial tension is given simply by: _γint = (1-m) _γ , where m is the gradient of a linear plot of functions of the measured parameters and _γ is the liquid surface tension. The measurement of contact angles on a droplet/fibre system have been reported previously; however, our method proposes a different geometry and consequently a simpler solution to the problem, with an additional advantage of verification on the droplet equilibrium and accuracy of measurements.     

Surface modification of a biomedical polyethylene terephthalate (PET) by air plasma

In this work, low-pressure air plasma has been used to improve polyethylene terephthalate (PET) surface properties for technical applications. Surface free energy values have been estimated using contact angle value for different exposure times and different test liquids. Surface composition and morphology of the films were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Surface topography changes related with the etching mechanism have been followed by weight loss study. The results show a considerable improvement in surface wettability and the surface free energy values even for short exposure times in the different discharge areas (discharge area, afterglow area and remote area), as observed by a remarkable decrease in contact angle values. Change of chemical composition made the polymer surfaces to be highly hydrophilic, which mainly depends on the increase in oxygen-containing groups. In addition to, the surface activation and AFM analyses show obvious changes in surface topography as a consequence of the plasma-etching mechanism.     

Thermal,surface, nanomechanical and electrical properties of epoxidized natural rubber (ENR-50)/ polyaniline composite films

A new composite material from epoxidized natural rubber (ENR-50) and polyaniline have been successfully prepared. Aniline which was polymerized in the presence of dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid (DBSA), then added to ENR-50 for the preparations of ENR-50/Pani.DBSA composite films. The hydrogen bonding which contribute to the formation of ENR-50/Pani.DBSA composites was observed in FT–IR, UV–Visible and DSC. It showed hydrogen bonding interactions between the epoxy groups in ENR-50 and the amine groups in Pani.DBSA. The morphologies of the prepared materials were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). SEM and conductivity measurements revealed that the percolation threshold is at 2.5 w% of Pani.DBSA content. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) micrographs showed that ENR-50 with 5 wt% Pani.DBSA addition has the lowest surface roughness. In addition thermogravimetric analysis indicates improved thermal stability at low Pani.DBSA content. DSC measurements revealed that T_g value increases with increasing Pani.DBSA, indicating that the formation of homogenous composite material. Nanoindentation results show that the hardness (H) and Young's modulus (E_s) increased with higher addition of Pani.DBSA polymer.     

Numerical study of the single fibre push-out test: Part III. Singularity of interface stresses

The singular behaviour at the free edges of the fibre-matrix interface is analysed for the fibre push-out test geometry based on the boundary element method. The fibre push-out test has been extensively used to measure the fibre-matrix interfacial properties in polymer, ceramic and metal matrix composites. There are two free edges in the fibre push-out specimen: one is at the loaded fibre end and the other at the supported fibre end. The singular stresses can be expressed as a function of singular exponent and singular stress intensity. It is shown that the singular exponents obtained at both fibre ends are characteristic of composite constituent properties, such as Young's moduli of fibre and matrix, and does not vary with specimen dimensions. The singular exponents are real and identical for the shear and radial stress components at fibre ends where the wedge angles are the same. The singular stress intensities are also implicit in material properties, and vary with specimen dimensions, such as fibre to matrix radius ratio, fibre aspect ratio and support hole size. An interfacial failure criterion is proposed here based on the average stress concept to determine the critical singular stress intensities in mode I and mode II loads.     

聚丙烯中电树枝生长机理研究

耐电树枝老化特性是表征聚合物绝缘材料介电性能的重要参数之一.聚丙烯(PP)是典型半结晶聚合物,其复杂的非均匀聚集态结构影响电树枝的生长.本文对PP及加入成核剂的PP试样进行了耐电树枝化性能实验,通过偏光显微镜(PLM)及差示扫描量热法(DSC)分析加入成核剂前后PP的结晶形态、结晶度以及结晶结构对电树枝生长特征的影响.以相界面自由能的热驱动作用以及放电雪崩理论为基础,对电树枝生长的热力学和动力学机理进行分析,阐明电场分布对电树枝生长的重要作用.根据半结晶材料的结晶相和非晶相的物理性能,建立材料内部电场分布计算模型,模拟针-板电极条件下聚合物材料内部的局域电场分布情况,分析了电树枝通道的动力学生长特征,探讨了成核剂改变PP的结晶结构抑制电树枝沿电场生长的作用.     

Structural quantification of wood fibre surfaces—Morphological effects of pulping and enzymatic treatment

Wood fibres have been utilized by our society as an important component of paper products and are presently gaining more interest as reinforcement in composite materials. During the last decades biochemical treatments have also found applications in the processing of wood fibres. The chemical, mechanical and biochemical treatments affect the morphology of the fibre wall structure at the micro- and nano-level. In this study, we present a modern approach where field-emission SEM (FE-SEM) and relevant computerized image analysis are applied to quantify the fibre wall characteristics. Details such as surface roughness and texture of the fibre walls are quantified objectively. Global polar plots are generated, which are considered to represent the fingerprint of a given pulp. The approach offers a novel perspective in the characterisation of surface structures, moving forward from performing subjective evaluations to performing objective quantifications of wood pulp fibre surfaces.     

Buckling of hybrid nanocomposites with embedded graphene and carbon nanotubes

With the aid of atomistic multiscale modelling and analytical approaches, buckling strength has been determined for carbon nanofibres/epoxy composite systems. Various nanofibres configurations considered are single walled carbon nano tube (SWCNT) and single layer graphene sheet (SLGS) and SLGS/SWCNT hybrid systems. Computationally, both eigen-value and non-linear large deformation-based methods have been employed to calculate the buckling strength. The non-linear computational model generated here takes into account of complex features such as debonding between polymer and filler (delamination under compression), nonlinearity in the polymer, strain-based damage criteria for the matrix, contact between fillers and interlocking of distorted filler surfaces with polymer. The effect of bridging nanofibres with an interlinking compound on the buckling strength of nano-composites has also been presented here. Computed enhancement in buckling strength of the polymer system due to nano reinforcement is found to be in the range of experimental and molecular dynamics based results available in open literature. The findings of this work indicate that carbon based nanofillers enhance the buckling strength of host polymers through various local failure mechanisms.     

Improvements in carbon fibre reinforced composites by inkjet printing of thermoplastic polymer patterns

A thermoplastic polymer solution was inkjet printed in a pre‐defined hexagonal pattern onto carbon fibre reinforced epoxy resin (CFRP), leading to a significant increase in strength, stiffness and toughness of the final aerospace grade compo‐site system. The approach consisted of depositing low‐viscosity polymer microdroplets having chemically and me‐chanically comparable properties to epoxy polymer, onto CFRP before curing and solidification. The microdroplets remained arrested between composite plies without direct contact with the neighbouring microdroplets ensuring preservation of the structural integrity of the new composite system after curing. The key to achieving this synergistic effect was in appropriately selected additive materials; however, the novel aspects also included the method itself, which enabled an accurate crack arrest mechanism.

     

Formation of Polyvinyl Alcohol film with graphene nanoplatelets and carbon black for electrostatic discharge protective packaging

This research investigated the synergic effect of graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) and carbon black (CB) as a blended conductive filler for polymer film used as electrostatic discharge (ESD) packaging materials. Various weight ratios of GNPs/CB and combined filler concentrations were mixed and processed into Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVOH) based film. The surface resistivity and volume resistivity of the resulting film was measured under three different humidity environments. The study found that the composite with GNPs/CB ratios of 10:90 and 30:70 resulted in a sharp drop in surface resistivity by 5–8 orders of magnitude at the filler loading 8-10 wt%. The volume resistivity of the resulting film exhibited steady and consistent ranges within 10⁸–10¹² Ω cm across all loadings. The difference in conductivity between surface and volume made the film possible to be used in protecting equipment against electrostatic discharges inside of a package. The high loading of GNPs in hybrid GNPs/CB had no effect on enhancing both surface and volume conductivity of the composite film.     

Improved Dielectric Breakdown Strength of Covalently-Bonded Interface Polymer–Particle Nanocomposites

Interfacial covalent bonding is an effective approach to increase the electrical resistance of a polymer–particle composite to charge flow and dielectric breakdown. A bifunctional tether reagent bonded to an inorganic oxide particle surface assists with particle dispersion within a thermosetting epoxy polymer matrix but then also reacts covalently with the polymer matrix. Bonding the particle surface to the polymer matrix resulted in a composite that maintained the pure polymer glass transition temperature, compared to modified or unmodified particle dispersions that lacked covalent bonding to the polymer matrix, which depressed the polymer glass transition to lower temperatures. The added interfacial control, directly bonding the particle to the polymer matrix, appears to prevent conductive percolation across particle surfaces that results in a reduced Maxwell–Wagner relaxation of the polymer–particle composite and a reduced sensitivity to a dielectric breakdown event. The inclusion of 5 vol% particles of higher permittivity produces a composite of enhanced dielectric constant and, with surface modification to permit surface cross-linking into the polymer, a polymer–particle composite with a Weibull E ₀ dielectric breakdown strength of 25% greater than that of the pure polymer resulted. The estimated energy density for the cross-linked interface composite was improved 260% compared to the polymer alone, 560% better than a polymer–particle composite synthesized using bare particles, and 80% better than a polymer–particle composite utilizing bare particles with a dispersant.     

Surfaces and interfaces in polymer-based electronics

Research on electronics applications such as light-emitting devices for flat-panel displays, transistors, sensors and even solid state lasers based on conducting polymers is presently under way and in some cases has reached the stage of prototype production. The mechanisms for charge injection and conduction in these materials are being studied, as are the physics of luminescence and its quenching. Lately, research into controlling film morphology through self-organizing techniques also has gained interest. Though the present interest in conducting polymers mainly concerns the pristine semiconducting state, doped conducting polymers are also studied for potential use in many applications.

In this paper, we present an overview of some of the central issues in surface and interface science in the field, as well as provide our view on what may lie ahead in the future. Specifically, the importance of metal/polymer, polymer/metal and polymer/polymer interfaces is addressed. We illustrate these using polymer-based light-emitting devices, though the same type of issues appear in other polymer-based applications such as transistors and solar cells.     

Aminealkylthiol and dithiol self-assembly as adhesion promoter between copper substrate and epoxy resin

To improve adhesion between copper and epoxy resin in printed circuit board, a roughness treatment of copper has been widely used. Nevertheless, new adhesion promoters have to be developed to face the miniaturization and sophistication of the electronic device. Self-assembled monolayers have met increasing interest in this field by using them as coupling agent between copper and the epoxy resin.This paper presents the deposition of an epoxy resin on copper modified by amine alkylthiol and dithiol monolayers and highlights the benefit brought by the monolayer in terms of adhesion.The chemical linkage between the amine SAMs and the epoxy function has been proved by the deposition on a short epoxy fragment, the 2-(4-fluorophenoxy-methyl)oxirane. The deposition of an epoxy resin mixed with amine curing agent has then been successfully achieved on amine terminated SAMs. The resulting polymer is homogeneous and well adherent on their surface, while the adhesion is lower on bare copper and not existing on methyl terminated SAMs. The formation of chemical bond Cu-S and N-epoxy is thus essential to increase the adhesion strength between copper and the polymer.     

Effects of carbon fibers on the transcrystalline interphase in poly(phenylene sulfide) of different molecular weights

Composite films of different molecular weight poly(phenylene sulfide) (PPS) and three types of carbon fibers (Pitch, PAN, and Rayon-based fibers) have been studied by optical microscopy and wide-angle X-ray diffraction. Transcrystallization of growing spherulites on carbon fibers is found under all thermal conditions of growth on Rayon and Pitch-based carbon fibers for all types of matrices. For composite films with PAN carbon fibers transcrystallization of growing spherulites is not uniform and sometimes is not found at all. Existence of b axial orientation of twisted lamellae for transcrystalline zone of PPS is demonstrated by X-ray diffraction technique and compared with orientation of the stretched sample. The new induction time quantitative approach is applied to the transcrystalline growth of PPS spherulites on the surface of carbon fibers. The interfacial free energy difference for fiber/crystallite and heterogeneities/ crystallite systems in the melt that is defined from growth and nucleation studies are calculated and compared. The relative tendency for a polymer to crystallize at the fiber surface rather than in the bulk is demonstrated.     

Preparation, characterization and surface morphology of novel optically active poly(ester-amide)/functionalized ZnO bionanocomposites via ultrasonication assisted process

Novel bionanocompoites (BNCs) were prepared using zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles which functionalized by γ-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (KH570) as a coupling agent. Poly(ester-amide) (PEA) based on tyrosine natural amino acid was synthesized and used as a polymer matrix. PEA/ZnO BNCs were characterized by fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). All the results confirmed that the surface of ZnO particle has sufficient compatibility with PEA through the link of the coupling agent between ZnO and polymer and also proved that the presence of ZnO nanoparticles appeared to be dispersed in nanosize in polymer composite matrix. In addition, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) data indicated an enhancement of thermal stability of new BNC materials compared with the pure polymer.     

TERAHERTZ QUALITY CONTROL OF POLYMERIC PRODUCTS

We report on experiments that evaluate the potential of terahertz (THz) time-domain spectroscopy (TDS) for quality control of polymeric compounds. We investigate specimens out of a polyethylene compound with silver-coated titanium dioxide nanospheres and a glass-fiber reinforced epoxy composite. We further examine an industrial polymer product produced by injection molding. Our data demonstrates that THz imaging is a powerful tool for contactless quality control in the polymer industry.