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Polymers, Volume 17, Issue 15 (August-1 2025) – 2 articles

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17 pages, 1956 KiB  
Article
Effect of Bio-Based Flame Retardants in Sustainable Epoxy Systems for the Development of Composite Materials
by Patricia Ares-Elejoste, Rubén Seoane-Rivero, Inaki Gandarias, Jesus Ballestero and Ane Libe Alonso-Amondarain
Polymers 2025, 17(15), 2001; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17152001 (registering DOI) - 22 Jul 2025
Abstract
The composite materials industry is increasingly seeking sustainable alternatives to mitigate the environmental impact of end-of-life materials. As a result, many sectors are transitioning toward bio-based or partially bio-based matrices (e.g., epoxy resins) to preserve material properties while improving sustainability. The transportation sector, [...] Read more.
The composite materials industry is increasingly seeking sustainable alternatives to mitigate the environmental impact of end-of-life materials. As a result, many sectors are transitioning toward bio-based or partially bio-based matrices (e.g., epoxy resins) to preserve material properties while improving sustainability. The transportation sector, in particular, demands materials that meet stringent mechanical and fire resistance standards. In this study, various epoxy systems with bio-based and/or recyclable content were investigated, along with renewable additives designed to enhance fire resistance through their functional groups and chemical structure. The research focused on developing formulations compatible with Sheet Moulding Compound (SMC) technology, which is widely used in transportation applications. Through extensive testing, materials with high bio-based content were successfully developed, exhibiting competitive mechanical properties and compliance with key fire safety requirements of the railway sector, as per the EN 45545-2 standard. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Polymer Composites and Nanocomposites)
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14 pages, 4097 KiB  
Article
Preparation and Performance Evaluation of Graphene Oxide-Based Self-Healing Gel for Lost Circulation Control
by Wenzhe Li, Pingya Luo and Xudong Wang
Polymers 2025, 17(15), 1999; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17151999 (registering DOI) - 22 Jul 2025
Abstract
Lost circulation is a major challenge in oil and gas drilling operations, severely restricting drilling efficiency and compromising operational safety. Conventional bridging and plugging materials rely on precise particle-to-fracture size matching, resulting in low success rates. Self-healing gels penetrate loss zones as discrete [...] Read more.
Lost circulation is a major challenge in oil and gas drilling operations, severely restricting drilling efficiency and compromising operational safety. Conventional bridging and plugging materials rely on precise particle-to-fracture size matching, resulting in low success rates. Self-healing gels penetrate loss zones as discrete particles that progressively swell, accumulate, and self-repair in integrated gel masses to effectively seal fracture networks. Self-healing gels effectively overcome the shortcomings of traditional bridging agents including poor adaptability to fractures, uncontrollable gel formation of conventional downhole crosslinking gels, and the low strength of conventional pre-crosslinked gels. This work employs stearyl methacrylate (SMA) as a hydrophobic monomer, acrylamide (AM) and acrylic acid (AA) as hydrophilic monomers, and graphene oxide (GO) as an inorganic dopant to develop a GO-based self-healing organic–inorganic hybrid plugging material (SG gel). The results demonstrate that the incorporation of GO significantly enhances the material’s mechanical and rheological properties, with the SG-1.5 gel exhibiting a rheological strength of 3750 Pa and a tensile fracture stress of 27.1 kPa. GO enhances the crosslinking density of the gel network through physical crosslinking interactions, thereby improving thermal stability and reducing the swelling ratio of the gel. Under conditions of 120 °C and 6 MPa, SG-1.5 gel demonstrated a fluid loss volume of only 34.6 mL in 60–80-mesh sand bed tests. This gel achieves self-healing within fractures through dynamic hydrophobic associations and GO-enabled physical crosslinking interactions, forming a compact plugging layer. It provides an efficient solution for lost circulation control in drilling fluids. Full article
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