Abstract
Due to the inherent environmental benefits of using
renewable materials, mimosa tannin resin (a natural
phenolic resin) reinforced by flax fibres could offer
desirable characteristics (lightweight, economic and low
environmental impact) aiming at reducing carbon footprint
of superlight electric vehicles. The non-woven flax mats
were chemically treated (alkali, acetylation, silane and
enzymatic treatment) to prepare tannin composites through
compression moulding (130 °C/35 min/1.5 MPa). The change
in fibre morphology was seen in SEM (scanning electronic
microscope) images. The treatments (except enzymatic)
showed significant improvement in tensile properties,
along with enhancement (acetylation) in flexural
properties, but little effect on impact resistance for
all treatments. APS (aminopropyl triethoxy siloxane)
treated composites showed highest tensile strength of 60
MPa and modulus of 7.5 GPa. BTCA (butanetetracarboxylic
acid) treatment led to the highest flexural strength of
up to 70 MPa. NaOH treatment retained the impact failure
force of about 0.5 kN and sustained the saturation energy
(4.86 J) compared to untreated composites (4.80 J).
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 346-354 |
| Journal | Industrial Crops and Products |
| Volume | 67 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2015 |
| MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
Keywords
- flax Bio-composites
- tannin
- mechanical performances and surface treatments
