Functionalisable Epoxy-rich Electrospun Fibres Based on Renewable Terpene for Multi-Purpose Applications

Abstract

New bio-based polymers capable of either outperforming fossil-based alternatives or possessing new properties and functionalities are of relevant interest in the framework of the circular economy. In this work, a novel bio-based polycarvone acrylate di-epoxide (PCADE) was used as an additive in a one-step straightforward electrospinning process to endow the fibres with functionalisable epoxy groups at their surface. To demonstrate the feasibility of the approach, poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) fibres loaded with different amounts of PCADE were prepared. A thorough characterisation by TGA, DSC, DMTA and XPS showed that the two polymers are immiscible and that PCADE preferentially segregates at the fibre surface, thus developing a very simple one-step approach to the preparation of ready-to-use surface functionalisable fibres. We demonstrated this by exploiting the epoxy groups at the PVDF fibre surface in two very different applications, namely in epoxy-based carbon fibre reinforced composites and membranes for ω-transaminase enzyme immobilisation for heterogeneous catalysis.

Rubber-enhanced polyamide nanofibers for a significant improvement of CFRP interlaminar fracture toughness

“…The results achieved by interleaving such rubber/thermoplastic nanofibers reveal an effective boost of the CFRP interlaminar properties. Literature data 26 , 32 , 33 , 36 – 40 , 45 – 50 regarding polyamide nanomodification with Nylon 6 and 66 generally report improvements in the Mode I fracture toughness in the 25–60% range (Fig. 7 ), with few exceptions in both directions (lower and higher G I values).…”

Improving glass‐fiber epoxy composites via interlayer toughening with polyacrylonitrile/multiwalled carbon nanotubes electrospun fibers

“…Ideal composites must exhibit low density, high‐mechanical strength, toughness, resistance to fatigue/corrosion and enough flexibility to manufacture complex shapes. All these physical parameters pursue to improve the efficiency of the engine and reduce the energy wasting 1,3,4 . It is worth mentioning that the market of aerospace composites reached more than 40 billion USD in 2020 with expected growth at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 6% during the next 4 years (2022–2026) 5 .…”

“…As widely reported in the literature, the appearance of reinforced epoxy nanocomposites has attracted more interest in the past, due to the great improvement of mechanical properties and toughness that such materials would achieve by including nanomaterials as one of their constituents 17 . An interesting approach explored to manufacture the epoxy nanocomposites via interlayer toughening consisted of using non‐woven nano/microfiber as a reinforcing phase produced via electrospinning 4,18,19 . These fibers exhibit both a high‐surface area/volume ratio and enhanced mechanical properties.…”

A self-crosslinking monomer, α-pinene methacrylate: understanding and exploiting hydrogen abstraction

“…[8][9][10][11] Recently, there has been a flurry of papers reporting other routes to polymerisation of terpenes. [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] We reported the development of new (meth)acrylate based monomers directly derived from terpenes 24 with these monomers readily polymerising via free radical polymerisation, in the presence of a thiol chain transfer agent (CTA), 25 to produce polymers with a wide range of physical properties. Most significantly poly(α-pinene methacrylate) (Pα-PMA) exhibited a T g of ∼180 °C, much higher than those observed in the well-known commodity petroleum based polymers such as PS (100 °C), 26 PMMA (105 °C) 26 and a value that even approaches that of poly(isobornyl methacrylate), IBMA, (199 °C).…”