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The development of environmentally benign silicone composites from sugar palm fibre and silicone rubber was carried out in this study. The mechanical, physical, and morphological properties of the composites with sugar palm (SP) filler contents ranging from 0% to 16% by weight (wt%) were investigated. Based on the uniaxial tensile tests, it was found that the increment in filler content led to higher stiffness. Via dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), the viscoelastic properties of the silicone biocomposite showed that the storage modulus and loss modulus increased with the increment in filler content. The physical properties also revealed that the density and moisture absorption rate increased as the filler content increased. Inversely, the swelling effect of the highest filler content (16 wt%) revealed that its swelling ratio possessed the lowest rate as compared to the lower filler addition and pure silicone rubber. The morphological analysis via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the sugar palm filler was evenly dispersed and no agglomeration could be seen. Thus, it can be concluded that the addition of sugar palm filler enhanced the stiffness property of silicone rubber. These new findings could contribute positively to the employment of natural fibres as reinforcements for greener biocomposite materials.

Nanocrystalline materials are now gaining vast interest due to their outstanding physical, mechanical and chemical properties. Electrodeposition is an economical, reliable and viable technique in producing nanostructured materials as compared to other available methods. Recently, due to the high potential of nanocrystalline materials in anti-wear and corrosion resistance coating applications, the interest to develop better nanostructured materials as well as to improve the understanding of their corrosion behaviour has gained much attention. However, studies on the corrosion behaviour of electrodeposited nanocrystalline materials are rather limited. Hence, the corrosion performance of nanostructured materials in various electrochemical conditions will be addressed here. This review will provide a survey of existing literature on corrosion behaviour of electrodeposited nanostructured pure metals and its alloys as well as composites.

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This research focuses on the reinforcement of Kevlar in treated kenaf composite, specifically in the study of impact properties as well as the characteristics. The kenaf was treated with 6% Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) solution at a specific period of time before being made into laminates. Impact test was conducted using an instrumented drop tower device at 36J level according to the standard ASTM D7136. Microstructures of the fractured specimens were also analyzed. The results of the study indicated that treated kenaf/Kevlar hybrid composite has better impact absorption energy than pure kenaf composite. Compared to the pure kenaf composite, the hybrid composite absorbs more impact energy and appears to have lower impact damage at the same impact energy level. This is because the Kevlar fibres play an important role to prevent and delay the destruction of composites.