INTERFACIAL CHARACTERIZATION OF EPOXY-RESIN REINFORCED WITH TiO_2 COATED FLAX FIBERS COMPOSITES

摘要

Plant fibers are renewable and also light in weight which make them a good candidate as reinforcing elements in bio-based polymer composites. Having hydrophilic nature resulted by presence of hydroxyl groups in the structure of these fibers restricts their application in the polymeric matrices because of poor interfacial adhesion, and the low dispersion within the matrix. To resolve these problems this study tried firstly to functionalize the flax fibers with selective oxidation. This improves the adhesion of subsequent amphiphilic TiO2 thin films created by Sol-Gel technique. The composites were reinforced by using non/functionalized, TiO_2/ non –coated flax fibers. Thermo-mechanical properties of the composites and the interfacial strength between epoxy-resin and the fibers were characterized quantitatively and qualitatively. The results showed better interfacial properties within functionalized flax fiber reinforced composites comparing to non-functionalized ones.