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Chemistry
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Multiscale Analysis of Natural Fibre Composites
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Multiscale Analysis of Natural Fibre Composites

A special issue of Chemistry (ISSN 2624-8549). This special issue belongs to the section "Chemistry of Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2021) | Viewed by 23308

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Pietro Russo

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Guest Editor
Institute for Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials, National Research Council, Via Campi Flegrei 34, 80078 Pozzuoli, NA, Italy
Interests: polymer-based composites; nanocomposites; polymer processing; mechanical properties; rheological behavior
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the last few decades, natural fibres reinforced polymer composites (NFPC) gained an increasing interest from both academic and industrial researchers because of their economic, ecological, and technical advantages. Furthermore, the increasingly widespread use of polymeric materials even in advanced industrial fields to replace conventional ones such as glass and metal, due to their high specific properties and the awareness of the significant environmental impact deriving from the indiscriminate management of end-of-life plastic products, have further accentuated this focus.

NFPC materials are intrinsically able to promote circular economy and sustainable development and current market analyses clearly indicate that their CAGR is set at 10.6% in the 2019-2025 period.

This trend, strongly supported by the observation that some natural fibres, especially plant- originated ones such as flax, sisal, hemp or jute, have good specific mechanical performances, competing with conventional glass and carbon fibres, is still partly limited by challenges linked to some intrinsic drawbacks as hydrophilicity and their poor wettability in many matrices. Furthermore, high complexities due to multiple natural hierarchical interfaces as fibre/matrix, fibre/fibre and fibre cell wall layers make the relationships between macroscopic properties of NFPCs, fibre specificity and interfaces difficult to ascertain.

In general, particular attention must be paid to the manufacturing processes to account for natural fibre thermo-mechanical sensitivity but also to their structural alterations reasonably induced by machining operations due to their multiscale heterogeneity from microscopic elementary fibre scale to the overall macroscopic NFPC scale through the fibre bundle.

With particular reference to the latter aspect, the use of an appropriate multiscale method to characterize natural fibre composites is greatly necessary because it may lead to a better understanding of machining performances of these eco-friendly materials and, consequently, may improve the ability to transfer the eco-friendly peculiarities of the natural fibres to novel industrial applications.

As Guest Editor of this Special Issue, it is a great pleasure to invite you to contribute to this issue with your most recent results in this topic. Reviews and research articles relevant to the reference topic are both accepted. The official deadline for submission is 31 July 2021. I look forward to receiving your contribution for the “Multiscale Analysis of Natural Fibre Composites” Special Issue in Chemistry.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Molecules.

Dr. Pietro Russo
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Chemistry is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • natural fibres
  • polymer composites
  • multiscale analysis
  • heterogeneous structures
  • complex interfaces

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 6684 KiB  
Article
In Situ FBG Monitoring of a Henequen-Epoxy Biocomposite: From Manufacturing to Performance
by Mauricio Torres, Ana V. Rentería-Rodríguez and Edgar A. Franco-Urquiza
Chemistry 2022, 4(2), 380-392; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemistry4020028 - 28 Apr 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1939
Abstract
This work reports the in situ instrumentation from manufacturing to loading of a henequen fiber woven-bioepoxy composite. Continuous monitoring was performed by means of fiber Bragg gratings (FBG) with the aim of tracking the curing behavior of the biolaminate by vacuum-assisted resin infusion [...] Read more.
This work reports the in situ instrumentation from manufacturing to loading of a henequen fiber woven-bioepoxy composite. Continuous monitoring was performed by means of fiber Bragg gratings (FBG) with the aim of tracking the curing behavior of the biolaminate by vacuum-assisted resin infusion (VARI). The instrumented composite was later tested mechanically under bending. Among the results obtained, micro-deformations were detected as a consequence of curing residual stresses, and when tested, the FBG data had similarity with the strain calculated according to the ASTM D7264/D7264M standard. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multiscale Analysis of Natural Fibre Composites)
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17 pages, 3243 KiB  
Article
Fully Biobased Reactive Extrusion of Biocomposites Based on PLA Blends and Hazelnut Shell Powders (HSP)
by Luca Panariello, Maria-Beatrice Coltelli, Alessandro Vannozzi, Daniele Bonacchi, Laura Aliotta and Andrea Lazzeri
Chemistry 2021, 3(4), 1464-1480; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemistry3040104 - 5 Dec 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3055
Abstract
The production of biocomposites based on natural fiber waste and biopolymers is constantly increasing because of their renewability, biodegradability, and the accordance with the circular economy principles. The aim of this work is to contrast the disadvantages in the production of biocomposites, such [...] Read more.
The production of biocomposites based on natural fiber waste and biopolymers is constantly increasing because of their renewability, biodegradability, and the accordance with the circular economy principles. The aim of this work is to contrast the disadvantages in the production of biocomposites, such as reduction of molecular weight through the use of biobased chain extenders. For this purpose, epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) and dicarboxylic acids (DCAs) were used to contrast the slight chain scission observed in a poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) (PBSA) binary blend caused by the melt mixing with hazelnut shell powder (HSP). Two different dimensions of HSPs were considered in this study as well as different concentrations of the ESO/DCA system, comparing succinic acid and malic acid as dicarboxylic acids. Melt viscosity parameters, such as torque and melt volume rate (MVR), were measured to investigate the chain extender effect during the extrusion. In addition, the reactivity of the ESO/DCA system was investigated through infrared spectroscopy. The effect of chain extenders on thermal properties, in particular on the crystallinity of PLA, and on mechanical properties of final biocomposites was investigated to understand their potentialities in industrial application. Results of this study evidenced a modest increase in melt viscosity due to ESO/malic acid chain extension system, but only for the HSP with the lower dimension (so the higher surface area) and adding 0.5 wt.% of ESO/malic acid. Thus, the slight chain scission of polyesters, not significantly affecting the final properties of these biocomposites, is the most relevant effect that was revealed in this complex reactive system. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multiscale Analysis of Natural Fibre Composites)
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9 pages, 2143 KiB  
Article
Degradation of Polypropylene and Jute Fiber-Reinforced Composites Exposed to Natural and Accelerated Aging: Mechanical Properties and Wettability
by Paula Bertolino Sanvezzo, Fernanda Pereira de Castro Negreiros and Marcia Cristina Branciforti
Chemistry 2021, 3(4), 1392-1400; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemistry3040100 - 23 Nov 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2537
Abstract
Population growth and the way resources are being exploited are directly affecting the environment. The natural fiber market, for example, is worth billions of dollars and a huge amount of the fibers becomes waste. This considerable amount of waste motivates the study of [...] Read more.
Population growth and the way resources are being exploited are directly affecting the environment. The natural fiber market, for example, is worth billions of dollars and a huge amount of the fibers becomes waste. This considerable amount of waste motivates the study of the fibers as a reinforcement in polymeric matrix, which benefits both the environmental sustainability and technical-commercial development of new materials with good properties and reduced cost. In this study, jute fiber-reinforced composites previously manufactured from an industrial waste (W), polypropylene, compatibilizer, and nano-calcium carbonate (N), were exposed to natural and accelerated aging. The composites were tested by infrared spectroscopy, contact angle (CA) measurement, and tensile test. Infrared analysis showed greater oxidative degradation after accelerated aging. All CA values continued above 90° after natural aging. Among all compositions, the ones with the presence of N had the highest CA values, showing that N acted as a waterproofing agent. After accelerated aging, a significant decrease in all CA values was observed. The composites did not show significant variation in the elastic modulus after either aging. Deformation at break decreased significantly for compositions with no jute fiber in both aging programs. No remarkable reduction was observed in the compositions with jute fibers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multiscale Analysis of Natural Fibre Composites)
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19 pages, 3467 KiB  
Article
Preparation and Characterization of Polyethylene Biocomposites Reinforced by Rice Husk: Application as Potential Packaging Material
by Emi Govorcin Bajsic, Ana Persic, Tomislav Jemric, Josip Buhin, Dajana Kucic Grgic, Emilija Zdraveva, Krunoslav Zizek and Tamara Holjevac Grguric
Chemistry 2021, 3(4), 1344-1362; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemistry3040096 - 10 Nov 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3948
Abstract
The development of biodegradable materials as food packaging material is important not only due to the reduction in environmental pollution but also because of an improvement in the functionality. Rice husk-reinforced biopolymers have offered a possible solution to waste-disposal problems associated with traditional [...] Read more.
The development of biodegradable materials as food packaging material is important not only due to the reduction in environmental pollution but also because of an improvement in the functionality. Rice husk-reinforced biopolymers have offered a possible solution to waste-disposal problems associated with traditional petroleum-derived plastics. Rice husk-reinforced low density polyethylene (LDPE)-based biocomposites have been of great interest for their use as food packaging material. In this work, the LDPE/RH biocomposites with different rice husk (RH) content (10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 wt.%) were prepared by the melt mixing process in a laboratory Brabender mixer. The effect of RH content on the physical, thermal and mechanical properties of LDPE was investigated. More importantly, this work aimed to research the biodegradation of the LDPE/RH biocomposites as well as their effect on ‘Granny Smith’ apples’ respiration. The results showed that the incorporation of RH into the LDPE decreased the thermal stability of LDPE, increased water vapour permeability and water absorption, and increased the degree of crystallinity. The incorporation of RH increased the biodegradability of LDPE as well as the postharvest quality of ‘Granny Smith’ apples. The addition of RH in LDPE film significantly decreased fruit respiration and increased firmness as compared to LDPE film. The composting results showed that after the LDPE/RH biocomposite films were biodegraded for 21 days, the biocomposite films with the highest content of rice husks were the most degraded. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multiscale Analysis of Natural Fibre Composites)
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13 pages, 1844 KiB  
Article
Effect of Fiber Content and Silane Treatment on the Mechanical Properties of Recycled Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene Fiber Composites
by Vardaan Chauhan, Timo Kärki and Juha Varis
Chemistry 2021, 3(4), 1258-1270; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemistry3040091 - 1 Nov 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2969
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of fiber content and then silane treatment on the mechanical performance of the natural fiber composites of recycled acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (ABS) provided by the automotive sector. Wood and palmyra fibers were used as [...] Read more.
The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of fiber content and then silane treatment on the mechanical performance of the natural fiber composites of recycled acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (ABS) provided by the automotive sector. Wood and palmyra fibers were used as fillers in 10% and 20% fiber content composites. The fibers were treated with N-(2-Aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane to improve the interfacial adhesion between fibers and polymer matrices. The mechanical properties of the composites were determined by tensile and impact tests. Morphological analysis was later performed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). According to the experiment results, the tensile and impact strength of both wood and palmyra fibers increase after silane treatment. However, for the low-wood-fiber-content composite, the tensile and impact strength decrease after silane treatment due to the presence of an excess amount of silane relative to fiber content. The addition of wood and palmyra fibers significantly improved the tensile modulus of composite material and further increases slightly after silane treatment. Finally, SEM analysis shows a homogenous mix of fibers and polymer matrices with fewer voids after silane treatment, thereby improving interfacial adhesion. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multiscale Analysis of Natural Fibre Composites)
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20 pages, 8797 KiB  
Article
Dispersion of Micro Fibrillated Cellulose (MFC) in Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) from Lab-Scale to Semi-Industrial Processing Using Biobased Plasticizers as Dispersing Aids
by Giovanna Molinari, Vito Gigante, Stefano Fiori, Laura Aliotta and Andrea Lazzeri
Chemistry 2021, 3(3), 896-915; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemistry3030066 - 25 Aug 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3618
Abstract
In the present study, two commercial typologies of microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) (Exilva and Celish) with 2% wt % were firstly melt-compounded at the laboratory scale into polylactic acid (PLA) by a microcompounder. To reach an MFC proper dispersion and avoid the well-known aglomeration [...] Read more.
In the present study, two commercial typologies of microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) (Exilva and Celish) with 2% wt % were firstly melt-compounded at the laboratory scale into polylactic acid (PLA) by a microcompounder. To reach an MFC proper dispersion and avoid the well-known aglomeration problems, the use of two kinds of biobased plasticisers (poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and lactic acid oligomer (OLA)) were investigated. The plasticizers had the dual effect of dispersing the MFC, and at the same time, they counterbalanced the excessive stiffness caused by the addition of MFC to the PLA matrix. Several preliminaries dilution tests, with different aqueous cellulose suspension/plasticizer weight ratios were carried out. These tests were accompanied by SEM observations and IR and mechanical tests on compression-molded films in order to select the best plasticizer content. The best formulation was then scaled up in a semi-industrial twin-screw extruder, feeding the solution by a peristaltic pump, to optimize the industrial-scale production of commercial MFC-based composites with a solvent-free method. From this study, it can be seen that the use of plasticisers as dispersing aids is a biobased and green solution that can be easily used in conventional extrusion techniques. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multiscale Analysis of Natural Fibre Composites)
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Review

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16 pages, 681 KiB  
Review
Pectin Microspheres: Synthesis Methods, Properties, and Their Multidisciplinary Applications
by Keila Gutierrez-Alvarado, Randall Chacón-Cerdas and Ricardo Starbird-Perez
Chemistry 2022, 4(1), 121-136; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemistry4010011 - 1 Mar 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4087
Abstract
There is great contemporary interest in using cleaner technologies through green chemistry and utilizing biopolymers as raw material. Pectin is found on plant cell walls, and it is commonly extracted from fruit shells, mostly apples or citrus fruits. Pectin has applications in many [...] Read more.
There is great contemporary interest in using cleaner technologies through green chemistry and utilizing biopolymers as raw material. Pectin is found on plant cell walls, and it is commonly extracted from fruit shells, mostly apples or citrus fruits. Pectin has applications in many areas of commercial relevance; for this reason, it is possible to find available information about novel methods to transform pectin and pursuing enhanced features, with the structuring of biopolymer microspheres being highly cited to enhance its activity. The structuring of polymers is a technique that has been growing in recent decades, due to its potential for diverse applications in various fields of science and technology. Several techniques are used for the synthesis of microspheres, such as ionotropic gelation, extrusion, aerosol drying, or emulsions, with the latter being the most commonly used method based on its reproducibility and simplicity. The most cited applications are in drug delivery, especially for the treatment of colon diseases and digestive-tract-related issues. In the industrial field, it is used for protecting encapsulated compounds; moreover, the environmental applications mainly include the bioremediation of toxic substances. However, there are still many possibilities for expanding the use of this biopolymer in the environmental field. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multiscale Analysis of Natural Fibre Composites)
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