Thermomechanical characterization of cellulose epoxy-microfibrillary nanocomposite

• Grant number: 18/13169-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2018
• End date: August 31, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Materials and Metallurgical Engineering - Nonmetallic Materials
• Principal Investigator: José Ricardo Tarpani
• Grantee: Giovanna Rubo de Rezende
• Host Institution: Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos (EESC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The improvement of composite interfaces has motivated research in different fields, with theobjective of reducing costs and processing time in addition to optimizing its physicochemicalproperties. Microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) has recently been developed as a hierarchicalstructure in the form of an interface agent between epoxy resin and fibrous reinforcements(glass and carbon) raw and continuous (without any coatings) and has become recognizedas an interfacial agent in the reinforcement of plastics with the advantages of presenting lowcost, minimum environmental impact, renewable sources and great availability. Additionalstudies, however, are still required aiming at their behavior mainly against critical conditionsof temperature, humidity and different types of stress. The incorporation of threepercentages of MFC in weight (0.5%, 0.75% and 1%) to samples of nanocompositesconsisting of diglycidyl epoxide of bisphenol A (DGEBA) will be studied in comparison tosamples constituted without the addition of MFC by means of the following analyses:thermogravimetry (TGA); differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic-mechanicalanalysis (DMA), contact angle, rate of moisture absorption and degradation in hot and coldwater. For this purpose, test specimens of standard dimensions will be constructed intriplicate for each study group and for each percentage of CFM. The results presented asmean and standard deviation for each group of studu will undergo comparative statisticalanalysis employing software like excel or minitab.