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Structure, Properties and Processing of Polymer Materials and Composites

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Soft Matter".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 March 2022) | Viewed by 9399

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Production Engineering, Tomas Bata University in Zlín, Faculty of Technology, Zlin, Czech Republic
Interests: nanocomposite materials with polymer matrix; polymer chemistry; packaging materials; PVB recycling; polymer processing, engineering, and evaluation

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Guest Editor
Department of Production Engineering, Tomas Bata University in Zlín Faculty of Technology, Zlin, Czech Republic
Interests: quality control; metrology; evaluation of surfaces; statistical processing; replica surface

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In modern engineering practice, various types of polymeric and composite materials are used and prepared. For the aerospace, automotive, and civil industries, the essential products are polymer matrices or polymer composites with commercially available micro and macro fillers and polymer nanocomposites–polymer matrices with the addition of nanoparticles or nanofibers. In applications in these areas, products made of these materials are exposed to various types of deformations and environmental influences: quasi-static, dynamic, cyclic, thermal, impact, penetrating.

Advanced polymer composites should meet the set or required mechanical properties, such as strength, stiffness, structural strength, impact strength, damping, and resistance to aging and degradation. Other special properties required in practice may be, for example, electrical and thermal conductivity and electromagnetic shielding.

This SI aims to understand the basic principles of the preparation and composition of these composite materials. The added filler fulfils its reinforcing function, and the expected positive effect on the above properties is applied. A thorough understanding of how these processes affect the resulting physical and mechanical properties is key to analyzing existing and improved innovative design elements.

Dr. Dagmar Merinska
Dr. Milena Kubišová
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • epoxy composite
  • fiber
  • synthetic polymers
  • biopolymers
  • polymer structure
  • thermal analyses
  • X-ray analyses
  • microscopy
  • FTIR
  • Shore D
  • three-point bending

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 3268 KiB  
Article
Characterization of Mixed Pellets Made from Rubberwood (Hevea brasiliensis) and Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF) Waste as Pellet Fuel
by Rattikal Laosena, Arkom Palamanit, Montri Luengchavanon, Jitralada Kittijaruwattana, Charoen Nakason, Seng Hua Lee and Aujchariya Chotikhun
Materials 2022, 15(9), 3093; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15093093 - 25 Apr 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2137
Abstract
The objective of this study was to investigate the production and properties of mixed pellets made from rubberwood (Hevea brasiliensis Muell. Arg) and refuse-derived fuel (RDF) waste with no added binder. Three different conditions of mixed pellets were developed to compare their [...] Read more.
The objective of this study was to investigate the production and properties of mixed pellets made from rubberwood (Hevea brasiliensis Muell. Arg) and refuse-derived fuel (RDF) waste with no added binder. Three different conditions of mixed pellets were developed to compare their chemical and physical properties to rubberwood pellets. The produced samples were subjected to both ultimate and proximate analyses. The contents of C, H, N, S, and Cl significantly increased with the increasing amount of refuse-derived fuel in the samples, resulting in reduction of the volatile matter. The mechanical durability of the pellet samples ranged between an average value of 98 and 99%. Mixed pellets containing 50% of rubberwood and 50% of refuse-derived fuel have improved heating values by 22.21% compared to rubberwood pellets. Moreover, mixed pellets having 50% of wood and 50% of refuse-derived fuel had the highest density and the highest energy compared to the other samples. Based on the findings of this study, it appears that the manufactured mixed pellets have the potential to be used as high-energy fuel. Full article
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18 pages, 4114 KiB  
Article
Influence of Modified Epoxy Dian Resin on Properties of Nitrile-Butadiene Rubber (NBR)
by Joanna Chudzik, Dariusz M. Bieliński, Yuriy Demchuk, Michael Bratychak and Olena Astakhova
Materials 2022, 15(8), 2766; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15082766 - 09 Apr 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1829
Abstract
Due to the increasingly higher requirements for rubber vulcanizates, following the example of previous research on the effect of resin addition on mechanical properties and adhesion of rubbers, the following studies investigated the relationship between the addition of adipic acid-modified epoxy dian resin [...] Read more.
Due to the increasingly higher requirements for rubber vulcanizates, following the example of previous research on the effect of resin addition on mechanical properties and adhesion of rubbers, the following studies investigated the relationship between the addition of adipic acid-modified epoxy dian resin (ED-24 AK) to butadiene-acrylonitrile rubber (NBR). It can be seen that the addition of ED-24 AK, compared to the reference additive ED-20 (Epidian 5), additionally increase crosslinking density of the system, changes its mechanical and tribological properties, and exerts a positive effect on adhesion of the rubber vulcanizates to glass fiber. ED-20 and ED-24 AK resins do not enter the structure of the vulcanized rubber but act as the additives. ED-20 acts without changes in its structure, and ED-24 AK is a partially crosslinked additive. Modification, especially with ED-24 AK, makes mechanical strength of NBR increased even up to 240% in comparison to virgin rubber vulcanizate. This is responsible for lower friction of the vulcanizates. The decrease in the friction force of NBR due to the modified dian resin addition can reach up to 40%. Adhesion of the modified NBR to glass fibers increases due to its modification with the epoxy resins, however this time the ED-24 is more efficient than ED-24 AK reaching ca. 50% increase comparing to ca. 20% improvement, respectively. The best performance of the resins Generally, the best modification results were obtained when the addition of resins did not exceed 5 phr. Full article
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19 pages, 5715 KiB  
Article
Synthesis of Polyamide-Based Microcapsules via Interfacial Polymerization: Effect of Key Process Parameters
by Angeliki D. Mytara, Konstantina Chronaki, Vasilis Nikitakos, Constantine D. Papaspyrides, Konstantinos Beltsios and Stamatina Vouyiouka
Materials 2021, 14(19), 5895; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14195895 - 08 Oct 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2158
Abstract
Polyamide microcapsules have gathered significant research interest during the past years due to their good barrier properties; however, the potential of their application is limited due to the fragility of the polymeric membrane. Fully aliphatic polyamide microcapsules (PA MCs) were herein prepared from [...] Read more.
Polyamide microcapsules have gathered significant research interest during the past years due to their good barrier properties; however, the potential of their application is limited due to the fragility of the polymeric membrane. Fully aliphatic polyamide microcapsules (PA MCs) were herein prepared from ethylene diamine and sebacoyl chloride via interfacial polymerization, and the effect of key encapsulation parameters, i.e., monomers ratio, core solvent, stirring rate and time during the polymerization step, were examined concerning attainable process yield and microcapsule properties (shell molecular weight and thermal properties, MC size and morphology). The process yield was found to be mainly influenced by the nature of the organic solvent, which was correlated to the diffusion potential of the diamine from the aqueous phase to the organic core through the polyamide membrane. Thus, spherical microcapsules with a size between 14 and 90 μm and a yield of 33% were prepared by using toluene as core solvent. Milder stirring during the polymerization step led to an improved microcapsule morphology; yet, the substantial improvement of mechanical properties remains a challenge. Full article
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Review

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22 pages, 3362 KiB  
Review
Sugar Palm Fibre-Reinforced Polymer Composites: Influence of Chemical Treatments on Its Mechanical Properties
by Muhammad Rizal Muhammad Asyraf, Agusril Syamsir, Abu Bakar Mohd Supian, Fathoni Usman, Rushdan Ahmad Ilyas, Norizan Mohd Nurazzi, Mohd Nor Faiz Norrrahim, Muhammad Rizal Razman, Sharifah Zarina Syed Zakaria, Shubham Sharma, Zarina Itam and Mohamad Zakir Abd Rashid
Materials 2022, 15(11), 3852; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15113852 - 27 May 2022
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 2710
Abstract
In the era of globalisation, decreasing synthetic resources, especially petroleum, have encouraged global communities to apply biomass waste as a substitute material for green technology development. The development of plastic products from lignocellulosic fibre-reinforced composites has been a hot topic among material scientists [...] Read more.
In the era of globalisation, decreasing synthetic resources, especially petroleum, have encouraged global communities to apply biomass waste as a substitute material for green technology development. The development of plastic products from lignocellulosic fibre-reinforced composites has been a hot topic among material scientists and engineers due to their abundance, sustainable in nature, and less toxic towards health. For the Malaysian scenario, sugar palm is a plant found in the wild and locally planted in certain areas in Malaysia and Indonesia. Generally, sugar palm can be harvested for traditional foods, fruits, starch sugar (gula kabung), and alcohol, whereas sugar palm fibre (SPF) is used in conventional products (brushes and brooms). Various researchers are working on the characterisation of fibre and its composites for engineering and packaging products. The main drawback of SPF is its hydrophilic behaviour, which leads to high moisture uptake and inhibits a good bond between the fibre and the matrix. Thus, a solution for this problem is by implementing chemical treatments on the fibre. From the literature review, no comprehensive review paper has been published on the influence of chemical treatment on the mechanical behaviour of SPF-reinforced polymer composites. Thus, the present review examines recent studies on the mechanical properties of sugar palm lignocellulosic fibres with various chemical treatments to evaluate their potential in structural applications. Full article
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