Performance of biomimetic coating modified fiber incorporated styrene butadiene styrene modified asphalt

This study reports the effect of polydopamine bionic coating and γ-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (KH570) composite modified polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fiber as a secondary modifier on the performance of styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) modified asphalt. Dynamic shear rheometer test indicated the complex shear modulu, storage modulus, and loss modulus of modified PAN (KD-PAN) incorporated SBS modified asphalt was increased by 12.4, 20.5, and 11.2%, respectively compared with PAN/SBS modified asphalt. The master curve of G^* of fiber/SBS composite modified asphalt shows that the deformation resistance of KD-PAN/SBS modified asphalt is greater than that of PAN/SBS modified asphalt in the entire loading frequency range. The cone penetration test showed significantly enhanced shear strength of KD-PAN/SBS modified asphalt. The adhesion work test results and SEM images of interface between fiber and SBS modified asphalt revealed that the adhesion effect of KD-PAN and SBS modified asphalt is better than that of PAN and SBS modified asphalt. SEM and AFM images of fiber further showed that the fiber surface becomes rough after modification. The increased surface roughness of KD-PAN facilitated the adherence of SBS modified asphalt to it, which in turn led to the enhanced performance of KD-PAN/SBS composite modified asphalt at the same fiber content and temperature.     

Superparamagnetic polyvinylpyrrolidone/chitosan/Fe3O4 electrospun nanofibers as effective U(VI) adsorbents

Magnetoactive electrospun fibrous membranes consisting of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), chitosan (CS) and pre-fabricated, double-layer oleic acid-coated magnetite nanoparticles (OA.OA.Fe₃O₄) were fabricated and evaluated as new adsorbent materials for the removal and recovery of uranium (U(VI)) from aqueous solutions. The adsorption has been investigated by batch-type experiments and the solid material has been characterized by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray analysis (TEM/EDX) and vibration sample magnetometry (VSM) measurements prior and after uranium adsorption. The experimental adsorption data were found to be well fitted with the Langmuir isotherm and the pseudo-second order kinetic model. The results indicate that PVP/CS/OA.OA.Fe₃O₄ fibrous adsorbents exhibit good adsorption properties towards U(VI) in aqueous solutions, achieving a q_max value of 0.77 mol kg⁻¹ (183.3 mg g⁻¹) at pH 6.0. The experiments regarding the regeneration and reuse of the magnetoactive adsorbents were carried out using Na₂CO₃, at pH ~11. After four cycles, the percentage relative adsorption remained stable (~100%) whereas the desorption percentage decreased from 31.9% to 21.0%. Generally, the presented results demonstrate that the incorporation of the Fe₃O₄ NPs has a positive effect on the adsorption efficiency of U(VI) from aquatic environments.     

Impact of processing conditions and sizing on the thermomechanical and morphological properties of polypropylene/carbon fiber composites fabricated by material extrusion additive manufacturing

For the 3D printed composites, fiber alignment is affected by the direction of melt-flow during extrusion of filaments and subsequently through the printing nozzle. The resulting fibers orientation and the fiber-matrix compatibility have a direct correlation with mechanical properties. This study investigates the impact of processing conditions on the state of the carbon fiber types and their orientation on the mechanical properties of 3D-printed composites. Short and long carbon fibers were used as starting reinforcing materials, and the state of fibers at the beginning and on the printed parts were evaluated. Strong anisotropy in terms of mechanical properties (flexural and impact properties) was observed for the samples printed with different printing orientations. Interestingly, the number of voids in the printed composites was found to be correlated with the fiber types. The present work provides a step towards the optimization of tailored composite properties by additive manufacturing.     

Preparation and study of stable fluorine-free superhydrophobicity of cotton fibers

This paper proposes a method of directly modifying the surface of cotton fiber to achieve super-hydrophobic properties. The process was directly utilized the long-chain alkyl siloxane and the nano-SiO₂ modified cotton cloth, which was simple to operate, low in cost and environmentally friendly. This study discussed the influence of solvent ratio, reactant content and ammonia content on hydrophobicity. The solvent ratio had the greatest influence, and the maximum water contact angle (CA) changes were70° ± 1°. The maximum water CA of the superhydrophobic cotton fabric prepared after process selection was 162 ± 1.5°; it had good acid, alkali and salt resistance. After 24 h in a solution with a pH of 1–14, CA remained almost unchanged; After 144 h in a 3.5% salt solution, CA stabilized above 132°; it had self-cleaning properties; it had good selective adsorption performance, which can quickly separate oil and water; it had good mechanical stability. After 300 times abrasion of sandpaper, which still shows hydrophobic properties.     

Aramid fiber reinforced EPDM microcellular foams: Influence of the aramid fiber content on rheological behavior,mechanical properties,thermal properties,and cellular structure

In this paper, aramid fiber (AF)/ethylene-propylene-diene monomer (EPDM) microcellular foams added with different content of AF are prepared by the supercritical foaming method. The effect of the AF content on the rheological behavior, mechanical properties, thermal properties and cellular structure of the AF/EPDM microcellular foams has been systematically studied. The research illustrates that compared with pure EPDM, the AF/EPDM matrix has greater viscosity and modulus, which is conducive to reduce the cell size and increase its density. And the thermal stability of EPDM foams is improved with the addition of aramid fiber. Meanwhile, when the content of AF is added to 1 wt%, the AF/EPDM microcellular foam exhibits a relatively low thermal diffusion coefficient and apparent density with the thermal conductivity to 0.06 W/mK. When the AF is added to 5 wt%, the tensile strength of the AF/EPDM microcellular foam increases to 1.95 MPa, which is improved by 47% compared with that of the pure EPDM foam. Furthermore, when the compressive strain reaches to 50%, the compressive strength of the AF/EPDM microcellular foam is 0.48 MPa, improved by 296% compared with that of the pure EPDM foam.     

Fabrication and characterization of electrospun psyllium husk-based nanofibers for tissue regeneration

The present study reports for first time the blending of psyllium husk (PH) powder/gelatin (G) in the polymer-rich composition of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to make an electrospinnable solution. The composite was prepared in 3 different ratios viz., 100% (wt/wt) (PVA + PH), 75% + 25% (PVA + 75PH + 25G) (wt/wt) and 50% + 50% (PVA + 50PH + 50G) (wt/wt) in 6% PVA solution. Optimum electrospinning parameters were evaluated for all the prepared blends. The fabricated nanofibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared, differential scanning calorimetry, porosity percentage, and fiber orientation using ImageJ software. A qualitative in vitro degradation study at room temperature is supported by SEM images. The cellular interactions were characterized by MTT assay of NIH-3T3 fibroblast cells for 2 and 4 days with an optimum cell growth of >50% by fourth day of culture and long-term cultivation of L929-RFP cells was observed for 10 days. The nanofibers were formed in the range of 49–600 nm. PVA + 75PH + 25G when cultured with L929-RFP cells exhibited highest fluorescence intensity and thus supported cellular proliferation significantly. Based on the results obtained from various analyses, we anticipate that fabricated psyllium-based nanofiber can be used as a promising candidate for wound healing and other biomedical applications.     

Polyacrylonitrile based carbon fibers: Spinning technology dependent precursor fiber structure and its successive transformation

In this study, the effects of different spinning methods including traditional wet and dry-jet wet spinning, and newly developed dry-jet gel spinning, on the structures and performances of polyacrylonitrile fibers, as well as the structural evolution during stabilization and carbonization, are compared in detail. The structural differences along radial direction, surface roughness, and chain orientation of carbon fibers are inherited from their precursor fibers, and these factors are determined by spinning technologies and processing conditions. Among all spinning methods, dry-jet gel spinning could prepare fibers with the best chain orientation, the highest tensile properties, and the lowest surface roughness, which would be favorable for achieving higher mechanical performance. Additionally, for the resultant carbon fibers, the surface modification of dry-jet gel spun carbon fibers is easier than dry-jet wet spun carbon fibers, and comparable to wet spun carbon fibers. Overall, dry-jet gel spinning is promising to make carbon fibers with both excellent tensile properties and good interfacial adhesion with epoxy matrix.     

Correlating the 3D melt electrospun polycaprolactone fiber diameter and process parameters using neural networks

In the present work, we developed an artificial neural networks (ANN) model to predict and analyze the polycaprolactone fiber diameter as a function of 3D melt electrospinning process parameters. A total of 35 datasets having various combinations of electrospinning writing process variables (collector speed, tip to nozzle distance, applied pressure, and voltage) and resultant fiber diameter were considered for model development. The designed stand-alone ANN software extracts relationships between the process variables and fiber diameter in a 3D melt electrospinning system. The developed model could predict the fiber diameter with reasonable accuracy for both train (28) and test (7) datasets. The relative index of importance revealed the significance of process variables on the fiber diameter. Virtual melt spinning system with the mean values of the process variables identifies the quantitative relationship between the fiber diameter and process variables.     

Effects of fiber surface grafting by functionalized carbon nanotubes on the interfacial durability during cryogenic testing and conditioning of CFRP composites

Carbon fiber reinforced epoxy (CE) composite is ideal for a cryogenic fuel storage tank in space applications due to its unmatched specific strength and modulus. In this article, inter-laminar shear strength (ILSS) of carbon fiber/epoxy (CE) composite is shown to be considerably improved by engineering the interface with carboxyl functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotube (FCNT) using electrophoretic deposition technique. FCNT deposited fibers from different bath concentrations (0.3, 0.5, and 1.0 g/L) were used to fabricate the laminates, which were then tested at room (30°C) and in-situ liquid nitrogen (LN) (−196°C) temperature as well as conditioning for different time durations (0.25, 0.5, 1, 6, and 12 h) followed by immediate RT testing to study the applicability of these engineered materials at the cryogenic environment. A maximum increment in ILSS was noticed at bath concentration of 0.5 g/L, which was ~21% and ~ 17% higher than neat composite at 30°C and − 196°C, respectively. Short-term LN conditioning was found to be detrimental due to developed cryogenic shock, which was further found to be compensated by cryogenic interfacial clamping upon long-term exposure.     

Progress and challenges in sustainability,compatibility, and production of eco-composites: A state-of-art review

Owing to economic and environmental benefits, new generations of materials/commodities follow “from waste to wealth” strategy. Recently, there has been a huge upsurge in research on the development of eco-composites using recycled plastic polymers and agro-residues because the eco-composites satisfy the stringent environment regulations and are cost-effective. Herein, we present a detailed review on the potential use of several types of natural fillers as an efficient reinforcement for recycled plastic polymers. In particular, the characterization of different categories of eco-composites according to their morphological, physical, thermal, and mechanical properties is extensively reviewed and their results are analyzed, compared, and highlighted. Furthermore, a framework to produce functional eco-composites, which includes functionalization of ingredients, critical issues on microstructural parameters, processing, and fabrication methods, is outlined and supported with sufficient data from the literature. Finally, the review outlines the emerging challenges and future prospects of eco-composites to be addressed by interested researchers to bridge the gap between research and commercialization of such a class of material. Overall, the acquired knowledge will guide researchers, scientists, and manufacturers to plan, select, and develop various forms of eco-composites with enhanced properties and optimized production processes.