Effect of preheat and encapsulation of steel particles on the interaction with Bisphenol A composites

In this study, the mechanical and thermal behavior of the steel particles (SP) fabricated epoxy-based composites were investigated. The purpose of using SP was to find out their suitability and compatibility to be used as low-cost fillers for epoxy-based composites. A special steel-cast metal mold was used to fabricate the composites via self-casting method. The effect of SP concentration (10, 20, 30 and 40 wt%) on various properties of the epoxy/SP composites was explored. Another sample was prepared using the optimum loading with a special treatment using heat and encapsulation of the SP. Mechanical properties of the composites were analyzed through tensile, flexural and impact testing. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to examine the structural and morphological properties. In addition, thermal properties of the composites were analyzed with the thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). Results indicated that the addition of PS into epoxy improved both tensile and flexural strength up to 98.5% and 147.6%, respectively, compared to the neat epoxy (NE). The decomposition temperature was raised nearly 18 °C for adding 30 wt% SP which was the maximum among all other composites. Results showed that 30 wt% of SP was the optimum loading for the better properties of the composites. In addition, the preheat treatment of the particles and the encapsulation process established a better interaction between the epoxy and the particles which resulted in the superior performance of the composites compared to the other samples. Overall, the improved mechanical and thermal properties of the SP-fabricated epoxy composites indicate that the epoxy/SP composite is a good candidate for structural and high temperature applications.     

Synergic improvement of DGEBA/CSP/HBP composite on mechanical behavior

Hyperbranched polymer with amino end groups (HBPA) and core-shell particle (CSP, which is fabricated through grafting HBPA onto the surface of silica nanoparticle) were incorporated into an epoxy matrix to fabricate a high performance composite. The effects of CSPs contents on the mechanical properties of composites were studied, discussing the results from tensile, flexural, and impact tests. The composites revealed noticeable improvements in tensile strength, elongation, flexural strength and impact strength in comparison to the neat epoxy or epoxy/HBPA system. The glass transition temperature (T_g) was also improved by the addition of CSP. Field emission scanning electron micrograph (FESEM) indicated that HBPA could favorable improve the compatibility between CSP and epoxy matrix. And the toughening mechanisms were the synergic effect of shearing deformation, phase separation, crack propagation, crack deflection, and crack pinning.     

Tough crystalline blends of polylactide with block copolymers of ethylene glycol and propylene glycol

The effect of crystallinity of polylactide (PLA) on the structure and properties of tough PLA blends with PEG-b-PPG-b-PEG block copolymers was studied. PLA was melt blended with a set of the copolymers with varying ratio of the hydrophilic (PEG) and hydrophobic (PPG) blocks. Although the blend phase structure depended on the copolymer molar mass and PEG content, as well as on the copolymer concentration in the blend, crystallinity also played an important role, increasing the copolymer content in the amorphous phase and enhancing phase separation. The influence of crystallinity on the thermal and mechanical properties of the blends depended on the copolymer used and its content. The blends, with PLA crystallinity of 25 ÷ 34 wt%, exhibited relatively high glass transition temperature ranging from 45 to 52 °C, and melting beginning above 120 °C. Although with a few exceptions crystallinity worsened the drawability and toughness, these properties were improved with respect to neat crystalline PLA in the case of partially miscible blends, in which fine liquid inclusions of the modifier were dispersed in PLA rich matrix. About 20-fold increase of the elongation at break and about 4-fold increase of the tensile impact strength were reached at a small content (10 wt%) of the modifier. Moreover, crystallinity decreased oxygen and water vapor transmission rates through neat PLA and the blend, and the barrier property for oxygen of the latter was better than that of neat polymer.     

Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer-Clay Nanocomposites: Processing,Structure and Hygrothermal Effects on Mechanical Properties

Polymer composites have been the mainstay of high-performance structural materials, but these materials are inherently sensitive to environmental factors such as temperature, exposure to liquids, gases, electrical fields and radiation, which significantly affects their useful life. Addition of layered silicate nanofillers in the polymer matrix has led to improvements in the elastic moduli, strength, heat resistance, decreased gas permeability and flammability. In the present work epoxy modified with Cloisite 30 B̈ nanoclay (at 1, 3 and 5 wt% of resin) and E-glass unidirectional fibers are used to prepare fiber reinforced nanocomposites using hand lay-up method. The nanocomposites have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). XRD results show that the interlayer spacing between the clay platelets increased significantly indicating that the polymer is able to intercalate between the clay layers. The mechanical properties are measured by carrying out tensile, hardness and flexural tests and values are compared with those found for fiber reinforced neat epoxy composites. The tests show that an addition of nano-clay up to 3 wt% increases tensile strength and micro-hardness and there is a decrease in values with further clay addition up to 5 wt%. The flexural strength increased significantly with clay loading and the highest value is observed for specimens with 5 wt% of clay. Further, durability studies on nanocomposites have been performed in water and NaOH baths under accelerated hygrothermal conditions. During the exposure it is observed that the degradation in NaOH environment is more severe than in water.     

Waste marble dust-filled sustainable polymer composite selection using a multi-criteria decision-making technique

This research works with the optimal design of marble dust-filled polymer composites using a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) technique. Polylactic acid (PLA) and recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET)-based composites containing 0, 5, 10, and 20 wt% of marble dust were developed and evaluated for various physicomechanical and wear properties. The results showed that the incorporation of marble dust improved the modulus and hardness of both PLA and rPET. Moreover, a marginal improvement in flexural strength was noted while the tensile and impact strength of the matrices were deteriorating due to marble dust addition. The outcomes of wear analysis demonstrated an improvement in wear resistance up until 10 wt% filler reinforcement, after which the incidence of dust particles peeling off from the matrix was observed, thereby reducing its efficiency. The best tensile modulus of 3.23 GPa, flexural modulus of 4.39 GPa, and hardness of 83.95 Shore D were obtained for 20 wt% marble dust-filled PLA composites. The lowest density of 1.24 g/cc and the highest tensile strength of 57.94 MPa were recorded for neat PLA, while the highest impact strength of 30.94 kJ/m² was recorded for neat rPET. The lowest wear of 0.01 g was obtained for the rPET containing 5 wt% marble dust content. The experimental results revealed that for the examined criteria, the order of composite preference is not the same. Therefore, the optimal composite was identified by adopting a preference selection index-based MCDM technique. The findings demonstrated that the 10 wt% marble dust-filled PLA composite appears to be the best solution with favorable physical, mechanical, and wear properties.     

Effect of fluorine functional groups on surface and mechanical interfacial properties of epoxy resins

To improve the surface and mechanical interfacial properties of epoxy resins, fluorine-containing epoxy resin (FEP) was prepared and blended with a commercially available tetrafunctional epoxy resin (TGDDM). As a result, when the fluorine content increased, the total surface energy of TGDDM/FEP blends was gradually decreased, while the water repellency of the blends was increased. The glass transition temperature and thermal stability factors of the blends showed maximum values at 20-40 wt% FEP compared with neat TGDDM epoxy resins. And the mechanical interfacial properties of the blend specimens were significantly increased with increasing the FEP content, which could be attributed to the intermacromolecular interactions in the cured TGDDM/FEP blends. These results indicate that the water repellency and toughness improvements have been achieved without significantly deterioration of the thermal properties in the TGDDM/FEP blends.     

Evaluating the effect of addition of nanodiamond on the synergistic effect of graphene-carbon nanotube hybrid on the mechanical properties of epoxy based composites

Addition of carbon nanotubes (CNT) to Graphene (Gr) is seen to have synergistic effect as reinforcement to polymer matrix. This is possible as CNTs inhibit stacking of Gr sheets, thus providing larger surface area nanophase to get bonded with polymer matrix and providing mechanical support through load sharing and crack growth inhibition. However, tube like morphology and high aspect ratio of CNT often lead to entanglement, which restricts their effect in exfoliating Gr. The aim of the present study is to investigate the potential of ND in improving the synergistic effect of Gr-CNT hybrid as a reinforcement to epoxy matrix. This study utilizes the power of ultrasonication technique, which is very simple and scalable, for dispersing and incorporating nanofillers into epoxy matrix. Addition of ND to Gr-CNT epoxy composite improved the tensile strength from ~46% with 0.5 wt% (75Gr:25ND) to ~51% with 0.8 wt% (25Gr:25CNT:50ND) as compared to neat epoxy. While the fracture toughness improved from ~140% with 0.5 wt% (25Gr:75CNT) to 165% with 0.8 wt% (25Gr:50CNT:25ND). Fractured surfaces of composites revealed improved dispersion and strong interfacial interaction with addition of ND to Gr-CNT hybrid. NDs attaches to the surface of Gr inhibit the stacking of Gr sheets by restricting π-π stabilization. NDs also help in bridging the ends of CNTs together into long chains, thereby increasing the aspect ratio of the fiber like reinforcement. This increases the total available surface area of CNTs and Gr, to interact with epoxy matrix, improves the overall efficiency of Gr-CNT hybrid as a reinforcement, resulting into improvement in mechanical properties of the composite structure.     

The Effect of the Addition of Mg-Al LDH Intercalated with Dodecyl Sulfate on the Fire Retardancy Properties of Epoxy

Summary: Layered double hydroxides (LDH) are chemical compounds that can be added to polymeric resins to confer fire retardant characteristics. The focus of this work is to study the incorporation of LDH intercalated with dodecylsulfate anions into epoxy resins. The mechanical properties were investigated using tensile, flexural and impact mechanical tests. The flame-retardant properties were assessed using horizontal (UL 94 HB) and vertical burning (UL 94 V) tests. The highest tensile strength was obtained for the composite with 3 wt% of LDH, whereas the highest flexural strength was found by incorporating 1 wt% of LDH. All samples containing LDH showed self-extinguishing behavior in the vertical test and lower burning rate than pristine epoxy.     

Poly(lactic acid)/poly(butylene succinate)/calcium sulfate whiskers biodegradable blends prepared by vane extruder: Analysis of mechanical properties,morphology, and crystallization behavior

Ternary blends of PLA/PBS/CSW with different weight fractions were prepared using a vane extruder. The mechanical properties, morphology, crystallization behavior and thermal stability of the blends were investigated. For the PLA/CSW blend, the tensile strength decreased, the flexural strength and modulus increased compared with pure PLA. For PBS, the addition of CSW had little influence on the mechanical properties. For the ternary blends PLA/PBS/CSW, the tensile strength, flexural strength and modulus decreased compared with pure PLA, while the elongation at break and the impact strength increased significantly. The brittle-ductile transition of the blends took place when the PBS weight fraction reaching 30 wt%. As a soft component in the blends, PBS was beneficial to improve the tensile ductility and the toughness of PLA. SEM measurements reveal that PLA/PBS/CSW blends were immiscible. When the weight fraction of PBS was 50 wt%, significant phase separation was observed, and CSW had preferential location in the PBS phase of the blend. DSC measurement and POM observation reveal that CSW had a heterogeneous nucleation effect on PLA and PBS matrix. The addition of PBS improved the crystallization of PLA and the thermal resistance of the PLA/PBS/CSW blends significantly.     

动态固化聚丙烯/环氧树脂共混物的研究

将动态硫化技术应用于热塑性树脂 热固性树脂体系 ,制备了动态固化聚丙烯 (PP) 环氧树脂共混物 .研究了动态固化PP 环氧树脂共混物中两组分的相容性、力学性能、热性能和动态力学性能 .实验结果表明 ,马来酸酐接枝的聚丙烯 (PP g MAH)作为PP和环氧树脂体系的增容剂 ,使分散相环氧树脂颗粒变细 ,增加了两组分的界面作用力 ,改善了共混物的力学性能 .与PP相比 ,动态固化PP 环氧树脂共混物具有较高的强度和模量 ,含 5 %环氧树脂的共混物拉伸强度和弯曲模量分别提高了 30 %和 5 0 % ,冲击强度增加了 15 % ,但断裂伸长率却明显降低 .继续增加环氧树脂的含量 ,共混物的拉伸强度和弯曲模量增加缓慢 ,冲击强度无明显变化 ,断裂伸长率进一步降低 .动态力学性能分析 (DMTA)表明动态固化PP 环氧树脂共混物是两相结构 ,具有较高的储能模量 (E′)     

Preparation and characterization of functionalized graphene oxide/carbon fiber/epoxy nanocomposites

Graphene oxide (GO) was functionalized using three different diamines, namely ethylenediamine (EDA), 4,4′-diaminodiphenyl sulfone (DDS) and p-phenylenediamine (PPD) to reinforce an epoxy adhesive, with the aim of improving the bonding strength of carbon fiber/epoxy composite. The chemical structure of the functionalized GO (FGO) nanosheets was characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR and XRD. Hand lay-up, as a simple method, was applied for 3-ply composite fabrication. In the sample preparation, the fiber-to-resin ratio of 40:60 (w:w) and fiber orientations of 0°, 90°, and 0° were used. The GO and FGO nanoparticles were first dispersed in the epoxy resin, and then the GO and FGO reinforced epoxy (GO- or FGO-epoxy) were directly introduced into the carbon fiber layers to improve the mechanical properties. The GO and FGO contents varied in the range of 0.1–0.5 wt%. Results showed that the mechanical properties, in terms of tensile and flexural properties, were mainly dependent on the type of GO functionalization followed by the percentage of modified GO. As a result, both the tensile and flexural strengths are effectively enhanced by the FGOs addition. The tensile and flexural moduli are also increased by the FGO filling in the epoxy resin due to the excellent elastic modulus of FGO. The optimal FGO content for effectively improving the overall composite mechanical performance was found to be 0.3 wt%. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that the failure mechanism of carbon fibers pulled out from the epoxy matrix contributed to the enhancement of the mechanical performance of the epoxy. These results show that diamine FGOs can strengthen the interfacial bonding between the carbon fibers and the epoxy adhesive.     

High mechanical and thermal performance of Sasobit-modified epoxy resin,prepared via vacuum shock technique

In this study, thermal and mechanical properties of novel nanocomposite, epoxy resin reinforced with octadecylamine functionalized graphene oxide (GO-ODA) and Sasobit, prepared via creative vacuum shock technique, were investigated. By introducing 1, 3 and 5 wt% Sasobit to the neat epoxy resin, the tensile strength increased remarkably by 104%, 315% and 266%, respectively due to the unique stiff and crystalline structure of Sasobit. In addition, considerable enhancement of 125% in Young's modulus, 351% in toughness, 562% in impact resistance, ~19 °C in thermal stability and ~7 °C in glass transition temperature of epoxy resin with 3 wt% Sasobit loading was demonstrated. The composite containing 3 wt% Sasobit alone, were found to have even superior properties than GO-ODA/epoxy nanocomposite, as surprisingly 3, 2.9, 2.2 and 2 times more improvement, respectively in tensile strength, toughness, impact strength and thermal stability of epoxy resin compared to reinforcement with GO-ODA were obtained.     

High impact resistance epoxy resins by incorporation of quadruply hydrogen bonded supramolecular polymers

A bisphenol A based epoxy was incorporated with a quadruply hydrogen bonded supramolecular polymer as a toughening agent to prepare a composite epoxy resin with higher impact resistance. The supramolecular polymer comprising poly-(propylene glycol) bis(2-aminopropyl) ether chains and 2-ureido-4[1H]-pyrimidinone moieties (UPy) self-assembled into spherical domains with sizes of 300 nm to 600 nm in diameter by micro phase separation in bulk epoxy matrixes. A significant improvement of 300% in impact resistance of the supramolecular polymer incorporated epoxy resin was obtained when the content of supramolecular polymer was 10 wt%. Tensile tests showed that the mechanical properties of the modified epoxy resin containing the hydrogen-bonded supramolecular polymers are also improved compared with those of the neat epoxy resin.     

Linseed oil‐based reactive diluents preparation to improve tetra‐functional epoxy resin properties

Two kinds of bio‐resourced reactive diluents have been synthesized from linseed oil. The prepared epoxidized linseed oil (ELO) and the cyclocarbonated linseed oil (CLO) were separately blended with a petroleum‐based tetra‐functional epoxy resin (TGDDM) to improve its processability and to overcome the brittleness of the thermoset network therefrom. The linseed oil modifications were spectrally established, and processability improvement of the resin blends was rheologically confirmed. The curing of samples was studied by differential scanning calorimetry, and their mechanical properties (ie, tensile, flexural, fracture toughness, and adhesion) were investigated as well. Scanning electron microscopy images were obtained to reconfirm the toughness improvement of the modified thermosets. In contrast of the epoxidized soybean oil (ie, the most conventionally studied bio‐based reactive diluent), ELO and CLO had no negative effects on the thermoset material characteristics. They improved properties such as tensile strength (up to 43.2 MPa), fracture toughness (1.1 MPa m^1/2), and peel‐adhesion strength (4.5 N/25 mm). It was concluded that ELO and CLO were efficient reactive diluents to be used in formulations of polymer composites, surface coatings, and structural adhesives based on epoxy resins.     

Ternary blends based on poly (ethylene-naphthalate)/glass fibers/nitrile rubber: Preparation,properties and effect of dynamic vulcanization

This work studied the possibility of utilizing nitrile rubber (NBR) to modify the impact properties of poly (ethylene-naphthalate) (PEN). The PEN/NBR ratio used changed from 100/0 to 60/40. At the same time, glass fibers (GF), 40% weight of the PEN component, were used to reinforce the blends to compensate for the loss of mechanical properties of PEN by incorporation of NBR. The results showed that the impact strength of the PEN/GF/NBR blend (PEN/NBR = 60/40) was increased up to 27.6J/m, nearly 5 times higher than that of the neat PEN. Meanwhile, the tensile strength and flexural strength were still maintained at as high as 66.1 MPa and 98.2 MPa, respectively. Dynamic vulcanization further improved the mechanical properties of the PEN/GF/NBR blends, which provided routes to the design of new PEN/elastomer blends. Other properties of the PEN/GF/NBR blends were also investigated in terms of morphology of fractured surface, dynamic mechanical behavior, thermal stability and crystallization, by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), respectively.     

Properties of glass-fiber reinforced composites based on liquid diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-c-epoxy resin

Glass-fiber reinforced epoxy composites were fabricated from the matrix resin liquid diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-C (DGEBC) using various amines as curing agents with and without fortifier (20 phr). The epoxy laminates were evaluated for their mechanical properties, such as flexural strength, interlaminar shear strength (ILSS), tensile strength and shore-D hardness. Dielectric properties, such as the dielectric constant, tan δ, dielectric loss and the resistivity of the laminated samples, were measured. The effect of the chemical reagents on the mechanical properties (i.e. flexural strength, lLSS) was also studied.     

Preparation and Characterization of DGEBA/EPN Epoxy Blends with Improved Fracture Toughness

The physical and mechanical properties of blends composed of two kinds of epoxy resins of different numbers of functional groups and chemical structure were studied.One of the resins was a bifunctional epoxy resin based on diglycidyl ether ofbisphenol A and the other resin was a multifunctional epoxy novolac resin.Attempt was made to establish a correlation between the structure and the final properties of cured epoxy samples.The blend samples containing high fraction of multifunctional epoxy resin showed higher solvent resistance and lower flexural modulus compared with the blends containing high fraction of bifunctional epoxy resin.The epoxy blends showed significantly higher ductility under bending test than the neat epoxy samples.The compressive modulus and strength increased with increasing of multifunctional epoxy in the samples,probably due to enhanced cross-link density and molecular weight.Morphological analysis revealed the presence of inhomogeneous sub-micrometer structures in all samples.The epoxy blends exhibited significantly higher fracture toughness (by 23％ at most) compared with the neat samples.The improvement of the fracture toughness was attributed to the stick-slip mechanism for crack growth and activation of shear yielding and plastic deformation around the crack growth trajectories for samples with higher content of bifunctional epoxy resin as evidenced by fractography study.     

Polymer nanoparticles: their effect on rheological,thermal, and mechanical properties of linear low‐density polyethylene (LLDPE)

Rheological, thermal, and mechanical properties of polymer particle/LLDPE blends were studied in this paper. The blends were prepared individually by incorporating nanoparticles of polystyrene (nPS) of ～60 nm and polymethyl methacrylate (nPMMA) of ～50 nm with different wt% loading (i.e., 0.10–0.5%). It was shown from the experimental results that rheological, thermal and mechanical properties were increased as polymer particles blended with LLDPE. Blends with 0.25 wt% loading of nPS and 0.5 wt% loading of nPMMA exhibited better rheological, thermal, and mechanical properties compared with that of other wt% loadings. The improvements in properties were due to the close packing of LLDPE chains as recorded by improvement in crystallinity of LLDPE with addition of nPS and nPMMA as shown by SEM. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Compatibilizing effect of functionalized polystyrene blends: a study of morphology,thermal, and mechanical properties

Polystyrene (PS), being an amorphous polymer is immiscible with other polymers. To engender miscible blends, PS has been functionalized with an active amino‐functional group on the molecular chains of PS to yield amino‐substituted polystyrene (APS), which serves as a reactive compatibilizer. The compatibilization effect of amino functionalized polystyrene on the rubber toughening was explored and results were compared in terms of morphology, thermal, and mechanical properties of PS/SEBS‐g‐MA versus APS/SEBS‐g‐MA blends. In addition, the effect of rubber content on the blend morphology and mechanical properties were investigated. An appreciable change in the thermal stability of APS blends in comparison with PS blend has been probed. A marked correlation has been observed between phase morphology and thermal stability. Use of APS produced the compatibilized blends which render improved blend morphology, enhanced thermal and mechanical properties. Optimal thermal, morphological and mechanical profiles were depicted by 20‐wt% APS blend. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A study of morphological,thermal, rheological and barrier properties of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-Co-3-Hydroxyvalerate)/polylactide blends prepared by melt mixing

The paper aims to study blend properties of biodegradable polymers of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) and polylactide (PLA) prepared by melt mixing. Blend compositions based on PHBV/PLA were investigated according to the following weight ratios, i.e. 100/0, 75/25, 50/50, 25/75 and 0/100 wt%. The study showed through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) that blends of PHBV/PLA are not miscible. This is consistent with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) data which indicate the presence of two distinct glass transition temperatures (T_g) and melting temperatures (T_m), attributed to the neat polymers, over all the range of blend compositions. Water and oxygen barrier properties of PHBV/PLA blends are significantly improved with increasing the PHBV content in the blend. Further, morphological analyzes indicated that increasing the PHBV content in the polymer blends results in increasing the PLA crystallinity due to the finely dispersed PHBV crystals acting as a filler and a nucleating agent for PLA. On the other hand, the addition of PLA to the blend results in a very impressive increase in the complex viscosity of PHBV. Moreover, the rheological data showed that, excluding the specific behavior of the neat polymers at low frequencies, i.e. less than 0.1 Hz, the complex viscosity of PHBV/PLA blends fits the mixing law well.