Thermal and Flammability Characteristics of Blended Jatropha Bio-Epoxy as Matrix in Carbon Fiber–Reinforced Polymer

Abstract

This purpose of this paper was to reveal characteristics of a composite structure containing carbon fiber as a reinforcement and blended synthetic epoxy/bio-epoxy derived from crude jatropha oil as resin and compared with fully synthetic epoxy. The composite structure was prepared by the vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding technique and was left to cure for 24 h at room temperature. Both were characterized for their thermal, chemical, and flammable characteristics. The incorporation of jatropha bio-epoxy into the matrix significantly improved the thermal stability between 288–365 °C as obtained by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) test. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) curves showed slight diminution of performances and Tg from DMA tests confirmed well with the trend of Tg obtain by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) curves. On the other hand, the flammability property was rated horizontal burning (HB) which was the same as the fully synthetic composite, but the duration to self-extinguish was halved for the composite with jatropha bio-epoxy. Fourier transform infrared attenuated total reflectance (FT-IR/ATR) was conducted to determine the difference of functional groups’ spectrum due to bonding type existing on both specimens. Overall, the composite specimen with blended bio-epoxy exhibited better thermal stability, comparable flammability characteristics, and performances. The aim of this paper was to introduce bio-based epoxy as a potential alternative epoxy and to compete with synthetic epoxy so as to minimize the footprint of non-renewable composite.

Choosing the Right Lignin to Fully Replace Bisphenol A in Epoxy Resin Formulation

“…Moreover, the degradation temperatures of both lignin‐based thermosets are remarkably higher than their T g values (Table 1), indicating that they can be used for applications that do not require high‐temperature stability [58] . The statistical heat resistant‐indices ( T s ) of cured lignin‐based samples were about 33–36 °C lower than T s of cured DGEBA, showing their lower heat tolerance [57] . The epoxy system made with organosolv lignin (4‐O‐CS) had higher thermal stability than the epoxy made with kraft hardwood (11‐K‐HW).…”

“…The first stage of degradation is primarily due to the breaking of aliphatic chains and releasing small molecules like CO, CO 2 , and water [56] . The second stage of degradation is most likely associated with the degradation of aromatic rings and oxidation of C−C linkages and different functional groups such as methoxy, phenol, and carbonyl [57] . Although the degradation of lignin‐based thermosets was started at lower temperatures (241–245 °C) compared to the DGEBA thermoset (350 °C), the difference was smaller at higher temperatures.…”

Hydrothermal Carbon as Reactive Fillers to Produce Sustainable Biocomposites with Aromatic Bio-Based Epoxy Resins

“…From the TGA analysis, we can see that the thermal stability of the RDGE resin (T 5% = 337 °C) was improved by ≈2–7 °C by HC reinforcement. The thermal stability of the developed materials was also analyzed by the statistic heat-resistant index (T s ) calculated by equation [ 37 , 38 ]: where T 5% is the temperature at which the samples lose 5% of their mass and T 30% represents the temperature at which the materials lose ≈30% of their mass. This factor gives the physical heat tolerance limit temperature, and the calculated T s values are presented in Table 1 .…”

Experimental Investigation of Pterocarpus Marsupium Resin/LY 556 Epoxy Blended Hybrid Polymer Material

“…TGA was used to determine the thermal stability of the composite, which was found to be 205°C without the addition of EG and 243°C with a 5 percent EG loading. At 18 percent filler loading, Hafiezal et al [12] found that combining bio jatropha filler with epoxy resulted in enhanced dynamic and thermal performance of the blended composite. By integrating waste peanut shell powder in epoxy resin, Prabhakar et al [13] produced bio composites, and studies were undertaken to determine the effect of filler content on the mechanical and thermal properties of the composite.…”