Hybrid polymeric composites are gaining important consideration with versatile applications due to their good mechanical properties. The present study is an attempt to evaluate the hybridization effects of different laminate stacking sequence involving areca sheath fiber/jute fiber/glass-woven fabric through the study of mechanical properties of four different resulting composites. The fibers were alkali-treated and were used in composites fabrication that was done using the hand lay-up method. This assessment of mechanical properties and study of fractured surfaces indicated a significant improvement in mechanical properties of the composites with jute fiber as intermittent layers, areca sheath fiber as a core layer, and glass fabrics as skin layer reinforced epoxy composites. An attempt to prove the application suitability of “L” frame for flower stand application was fabricated using the best mechanical behavior performer composite, and the ANSYS (deformation) analysis was also performed.

Epoxy-POSS based hybrid nanocomposites are prepared by in situ polymerization of a homogeneous blend of the diglycidylether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA) and 4,4'-diaminodiphenylmethane (DDM) in the presence of octa(maleimidophenyl)silsesquioxane (OMPS). The reaction of a maleimido-functionalised POSS cube with the epoxy resin is studied by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis and the formation of nanocomposites is confirmed by wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) studies indicate that the crosslinking structures of the nanocomposite networks are predominantly formed 2 between the terminal maleimide double bonds and the amino groups of DDM through a Michael addition reaction to form an aspartimide. The values of the glass transition temperatures (T g ) decrease with increasing POSS-maleimide content and this is likely to be due to the inclusion of POSS cages into the system and consequent increase in free volume. The dynamic thermal stability of the cured polymers is increased by increasing the POSS content in the hybrid epoxy matrices as evidenced from thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) data.

High performance cyanate ester—silica hybrid nanocomposites were prepared using the sol—gel method through in situ reaction. The methodology adopted here was the formation of a covalent bond between the bisphenol-A cyanate ester (CE) and silica matrix utilizing γ-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (γ-APS) as coupling agent. The covalent bond formation in the hybrid was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared analysis and solvent extraction. Thermal and morphological properties of the hybrid materials were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis and scanning electron microscopy. The CE—silica hybrids show improved thermal properties. The double degradation curves observed from thermogravimetric analysis may be due to the weak adduct linkage and the cleavage of the triazine ring in the hybrid. The nitrogen porosimetry study confirmed the molecular level dispersion of cyanate ester in the cyanate ester—silica hybrid nanocomposites.