Recyclable, Repairable, and Fire-Resistant High-Performance Carbon Fiber Biobased Epoxy

Abstract

Due to the global environmental concerns caused by the ever-increasing environmental impact, landfill materials, and CO2 emission, there is a critical need in the elaboration of sustainable composite materials. Advanced material composites used in the production of high-performance products to solve some of the most difficult engineering challenges are having a key role in decarbonization by their light weight, higher performance, and increasing durability. In this work, sustainable carbon fiber reinforced composites (CFRCs) have been engineered with an environmentally friendly epoxy resin derived from natural and renewable compounds employing an industrial feasible manufacturing protocol. The thermosetting resin with a biobased organic carbon content (BOC) of ∼77% was synthesized by combining a renewable based monomer, the triglycidyl ether of phloroglucinol (TGPh), with hexahydro-4-methylphthalic anhydride (HMPA). The developed CFRCs show high performance with high glass transitions T g > 350 °C, a high storage modulus ∼42 GPa, a high interlaminar shear strength ∼63 MPa, and a compressive strength ∼400 MPa. In addition, the outgassing tests show that both the resin and the CFRCs are compliant for space application. Moreover, the biobased CFRCs exhibit chemical recyclability, reprocessability, and excellent intrinsic flame resistance.

Bio-Based Reprocessable and Degradable Epoxy Resins via Inverse Vulcanization

“…The thermal stability was studied by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) (Figure S14), and the degradation temperature for 5% weight loss ( T d5 ) and 30% weight loss ( T d30 ), as well as the residual weight percentage at 700 °C ( R 700 ), is summarized in Table S4. The statistic heat-resistant index ( T s ) is a popular index for quantitative comparison of thermal stability and can be determined by the following equation T normals = 0.49 .25em [ T d 5 + 0.6 false( T normald 30 − T normald 5 false) ] …”

Vanillin- and Isovanillin-Based Phthalonitrile Resins Containing Spirocycle Acetal Structures

“…Significant progress has been made in producing thermosets, especially epoxies and cyanate esters, from biobased resources. The reports have proven that the performance of biobased thermosets is comparable to that of its petroleum-based counterparts and shows promising potential in applications. − Due to the lack of biobased phenolic compounds, the preparation of biobased PN resins is not easy and is receiving increasing attention. , Zhang et al prepared phthalocyanine resin from anethole derived from vegetable oil, which has a high T g ( T g > 450 °C), a low thermal expansion coefficient, and a high char yield . The preparation of thermosetting epoxy and phthalocyanine resins with excellent performance uses eugenol as a raw material. ,− Peng et al obtained a type of l -tyrosine-based phthalonitrile with a biomass content of 61%, and the PN resin not only shows higher T g and outstanding thermal stability but also has an autocatalytic performance .…”