Cured and uncured scraps from manufacturing of epoxy based carbon fiber reinforced composites were treated with a pyrolytic process to provide, as solid residue, carbon fibers to be re-used in new composites production. The industrial scraps were pyrolyzed at different temperatures in a 70 kg batch pilot plant and the pyrolysis products (gas, oil, and solid) were fully characterized. The solid residue (carbon fibers covered by a carbonaceous layer) was subjected to a further oxidative step at 500 and 600 C for different residence times to provide fibers devoid of any organic residue that did not volatilize during pyrolysis. The effects of both pyrolysis and oxidative process on the recovered fibers were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy and Raman Spectroscopy. The reinforcement behavior of pyrolyzed and pyrolyzed/oxidized chopped fibers, compared to virgin fibers, was tested in the production of new Chopped Carbon Fiber Reinforced Composites. The optimized double pyrolysis/ oxidation process was found to provide fibers whose performance in the composites were comparable to the virgin ones. POLYM. COMPOS., 36:1084-1095, 2015

To investigate interchromophore interactions in azobenzene polymers, we have undertaken a thorough spectroscopic analysis of the azodye [(S)-3-pivaloyloxy-1-(4'-nitro-4-azobenzene)pyrrolidine] by modeling the repeating unit of poly[(S)-3-methacryloyloxy-1-(4'-nitro-4-azobenzene)pyrrolidine) and its dimeric derivative whose synthesis is presented here. The analysis of the electronic and Raman spectra of the azodye in several solvents is based on a previously proposed model for polar chromophores in solution. Electronic and CD spectra of the dimeric unit are collected and analyzed within the framework of a new model. On the basis of the information collected from the spectroscopic analysis of the solvated dye, this model accounts for interchromophore interactions in the dimer. The large CD signal measured for the dimer (amounting to about a third of the signal measured for the polymer) suggests the presence of important chiral interactions in the dimeric unit, and is modeled in terms of a right-handed relative orientation of the two chromophores.

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Nanofibrous nonwovens show high versatility and outstanding properties, with reduced weight. Porous morphology, high material flexibility and deformability challenge their mechanical testing, severely affecting results reliability. Still today, a specific technical standard method to carry out tensile testing of nonwoven nanofibrous mats is lacking, as well as studies concerning tensile test data reliability. In this work, an accurate, systematic, and critical study is presented concerning tensile testing of nonwovens, using electrospun Nylon 66 random nanofibrous mats as a case study. Nanofibers diameter and specimen geometry are investigated to thoroughly describe the nanomat tensile behavior, also considering the polymer thermal properties, and the nanofibers crossings number as a function of the nanofibers diameter. Below a threshold value, which lies between 150 and 250 nm, the overall mat mechanical behavior changes from ductile to brittle, showing enhanced elastic modulus for a high number of nanofibers crossings. While specimen geometry does not affect tensile results. Stress–strain data are analyzed using a phenomenological data fitting model to better interpret the tensile behavior. The experimental results demonstrate the high reliability of the proposed mass‐based load normalization, providing a simple, effective, and universally suitable method for obtaining high reproducible tensile stress–strain curves.