Submit to J. Compos. Sci. Review for J. Compos. Sci. Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Manufacturing, Characterisation and Properties of Advanced Nanocomposites

Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Published Papers

A special issue of Journal of Composites Science (ISSN 2504-477X). This special issue belongs to the section "Nanocomposites".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2018) | Viewed by 49802

Printed Edition Available!
A printed edition of this Special Issue is available here.

Special issue Manufacturing, Characterisation and Properties of Advanced Nanocomposites book cover image

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Yu Dong

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

School of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845, Australia
Interests: polymer nanocomposites; green composites and biocomposites; electrospun nanofibres/nanocomposites; composite characterisation and modelling; nanomaterials and nanofillers; additive manufacturing for composite materials

Dr. Alokesh Pramanik

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845, Australia
Interests: machining processes; CAD/CAM; digital manufacturing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Assoc. Prof. Dongyan Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Science72 Wenhua Road, Shenhe District, Shenyang City 110016, Liaoning Province, China
Interests: extraction of nanocellulose and its polymer composites; nanocellulose and graphene composites; manufacturing polymer/graphene nanocomposites; functional nanocomposites for oil/water separation, electrical and thermal conducting materials; natural polymers, electrospun nanofibers

Dr. Rehan Umer

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Centre for Future Materials (CFM), University of Southern Queensland Toowoomba, Toowoomba, QLD, Australia
Interests: composites manufacturing; liquid composite moulding; automated fiber placement; pultrusion; process modeling and control; graphene based composites and their manufacturing; natural fibre composites

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, advanced nanocomposites have attracted a great deal of attention from materials engineers and industrialists due to numerous advantages, including the use of a small amount of nanofillers to significantly enhance the material properties of resulting nanocomposites, widespread applications in a range of fields, such as automobiles, aerospace and aerocrafts, building structures, biomedical devices, etc., as well as easy processibility based on current manufacturing technologies, such as melt compounding, solution casting, in situ polymerisation and electrospinning.

Advanced nanocomposites reinforced with carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene oxides (GOs), nanoclays, nanocellulose, and nanofibres demonstrate excellent multifunctional properties, consisting of better mechanical, thermal, electrical, and barrier properties. The key issue is still the encountered challenge of homogeneous filler dispersion in morphological structures for tailored advanced nanocomposites. Hence, processing-structure-property nanocomposite relationship is crucial for their future development as innovative hybrid material systems.

This Special Issue will address above-mentioned points in relation to manufacturing, characterisation, and properties of advanced nanocomposites to offer an insight into this new composite family with the incorporation of nanofillers, nanoparticles, and nanomaterials in order to eventually achieve the nanotechnological "bottom-up" scheme.

Dr. Yu Dong
Dr. Alokesh Pramanik
Assoc. Prof. Dongyan Liu
Dr. Rehan Umer
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Composites Science is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

nanocomposites
nanofillers
nanostructures
filler dispersion
morphological structures
material properties
experimental characterisation

Published Papers (11 papers)

Download All Papers

Editorial

Jump to: Research

3 pages, 201 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Manufacturing, Characterisation and Properties of Advanced Nanocomposites

by Yu Dong, Alokesh Pramanik, Dongyan Liu and Rehan Umer

J. Compos. Sci. 2018, 2(3), 46; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs2030046 - 06 Aug 2018

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2563

Abstract

n/a Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Manufacturing, Characterisation and Properties of Advanced Nanocomposites)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

12 pages, 1587 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effect of Polycaprolactone Nanofibers on the Dynamic and Impact Behavior of Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer Composites

by Cristobal Garcia, Irina Trendafilova and Andrea Zucchelli

J. Compos. Sci. 2018, 2(3), 43; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs2030043 - 23 Jul 2018

Cited by 37 | Viewed by 3939

Abstract

In this article, the effect of polycaprolactone nanofibers on the dynamic behavior of glass fiber reinforced polymer composites is investigated. The vibratory behavior of composite beams in their pristine state (without any nano modification) and the same beams modified with polycaprolactone fibers is considered experimentally. The experimental results show that the incorporation of polycaprolactone nanofibers increases the damping; however, it does not significantly affect the natural frequencies. Additionally, the paper analyses the effect of polycaprolactone nanofibers on the impact behavior of glass fiber/epoxy composites. This has already been analyzed experimentally in a previous study. In this work, we developed a finite element model to simulate the impact behavior of such composite laminates. Our results confirm the conclusions done experimentally and prove that composites reinforced with polycaprolactone nanofibers are more resistant to damage and experience less damage when subjected to the same impact as the pristine composites. This study contributes to the knowledge about the dynamic behavior and the impact resistance of glass fiber reinforced polymer composites reinforced with polycaprolactone nanofibers. The findings of this study show that interleaving with polycaprolactone nanofibers can be used to control the vibrations and improve the impact damage resistance of structures made of composite mats as aircrafts or wind turbines. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Manufacturing, Characterisation and Properties of Advanced Nanocomposites)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 2492 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Polylactic Acid Reinforced with Mixed Cellulose and Chitin Nanofibers—Effect of Mixture Ratio on the Mechanical Properties of Composites

by Antonio Norio Nakagaito, Sohtaro Kanzawa and Hitoshi Takagi

J. Compos. Sci. 2018, 2(2), 36; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs2020036 - 19 Jun 2018

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 4639

Abstract

The development of all-bio-based composites is one of the relevant aspects of pursuing a carbon-neutral economy. This study aims to explore the possibility to reinforce polylactic acid by the combination of cellulose and chitin nanofibers instead of a single reinforcement phase. Polylactic acid colloidal suspension, cellulose and chitin nanofiber suspensions were mixed using only water as mixing medium and subsequently dewatered to form paper-like sheets. Sheets were hot pressed to melt the polylactic acid and form nanocomposites. The combination of cellulose and chitin nanofiber composites delivered higher tensile properties than its counterparts reinforced with cellulose or chitin nanofibers alone. Cellulose and chitin appear to complement each other from the aspect of the formation of a rigid cellulose nanofiber percolated network, and chitin acting as a compatibilizer between hydrophobic polylactic acid and hydrophilic cellulose. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Manufacturing, Characterisation and Properties of Advanced Nanocomposites)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

9 pages, 3305 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development of Pb-Free Nanocomposite Solder Alloys

by Animesh K. Basak, Alokesh Pramanik, Hamidreza Riazi, Mahyar Silakhori and Angus K. O. Netting

J. Compos. Sci. 2018, 2(2), 28; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs2020028 - 20 Apr 2018

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4095

Abstract

As an alternative to conventional Pb-containing solder material, Sn–Ag–Cu (SAC) based alloys are at the forefront despite limitations associated with relatively poor strength and coarsening of grains/intermetallic compounds (IMCs) during aging/reflow. Accordingly, this study examines the improvement of properties of SAC alloys by incorporating nanoparticles in it. Two different types of nanoparticles were added in monolithic SAC alloy: (1) Al₂O₃ or (2) Fe and their effect on microstructure and thermal properties were investigated. Addition of Fe nanoparticles leads to the formation of FeSn₂ IMCs alongside Ag₃Sn and Cu₆Sn₅ from monolithic SAC alloy. Addition of Al₂O₃ nano-particles do not contribute to phase formation, however, remains dispersed along primary β-Sn grain boundaries and act as a grain refiner. As the addition of either Fe or Al₂O₃ nano-particles do not make any significant effect on thermal behavior, these reinforced nanocomposites are foreseen to provide better mechanical characteristics with respect to conventional monolithic SAC solder alloys. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Manufacturing, Characterisation and Properties of Advanced Nanocomposites)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 7464 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Reduced Graphene Oxide: Effect of Reduction on Electrical Conductivity

by Sanjeev Rao, Jahnavee Upadhyay, Kyriaki Polychronopoulou, Rehan Umer and Raj Das

J. Compos. Sci. 2018, 2(2), 25; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs2020025 - 09 Apr 2018

Cited by 65 | Viewed by 9599

Abstract

In this study, the effect of reduction on the electrical conductivity of Graphene Oxide (GO) is investigated. The aim of this fabrication was to render electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding to thin polymer films using GO as fillers. The electrical conductivity was determined using the four-probe method and shielding effectiveness was theoretically determined using the experimentally obtained conductivity values. The initial oxidation of graphite was performed using Hummers’ method and the oxidized GO was dispersed in water for further exfoliation by ultrasonication. Thin films of sonicated GO dispersions were solution casted and dried in a convection oven at 50 °C overnight. The dried films were treated with 48% hydrobromic acid (HBr), 95% hydrochloric acid (HCl) or 66% hydroiodic acid (HI) for 2 h, 24 h or 48 h. A partial factorial design of experiments based on Taguchi method was used to identify the best reducing agent to obtain maximum electrical conductivity in the partially reduced GO films. The experimental analysis indicates that the electrical resistivity of GO is highly dependent on the type of acid treatment and the samples treated with HI acid exhibited lowest resistivity of ~0.003 Ω·cm. The drop in resistivity value after chemical reduction was of the order of 10,000 times, and range obtained in this work is among the lowest reported so far. The theoretical EMI shielding of the reduced GO film provided a shielding effectiveness of 5.06 dB at 12 GHz. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Manufacturing, Characterisation and Properties of Advanced Nanocomposites)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 67392 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Preparation and Performance of Ecofriendly Epoxy/Multilayer Graphene Oxide Composites with Flame-Retardant Functional Groups

by Ming-He Chen, Cing-Yu Ke and Chin-Lung Chiang

J. Compos. Sci. 2018, 2(2), 18; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs2020018 - 23 Mar 2018

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4203

Abstract

This study aimed to prepare ecofriendly flame retardants. Using the –OH and –COOH functional groups of multilayer graphene oxide (GO) for the hydrolytic condensation of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), TEOS was grafted onto GO to form Si-GO. Subsequently, p-aminophenol (AP) was grafted onto Si-GO to produce Si-GA, forming composite materials with epoxy (EP). The structures and properties of the composite materials were examined with Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and the limiting oxygen index (LOI). In terms of structure, FTIR observed two characteristic peaks of Si-GO, namely Si–O–C and Si-O-Si, indicating that TEOS was successfully grafted onto GO. TGA was used to determine the thermal stability of the epoxy/Si-GA composites; with the increase in Si-GA, the char yield of the materials increased from 15.6 wt % (pure epoxy) to 25 wt % (epoxy/10 wt % Si-GA), indicating that Si-GA effectively enhanced the thermal stability of the epoxy matrix. Lastly, the flame retardant tests determined that the LOI value rose from 19% (pure epoxy) to 26% (epoxy/10 wt % Si-GA), proving that graphene with modified silicon can be used to enhance the flame retardancy of epoxy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Manufacturing, Characterisation and Properties of Advanced Nanocomposites)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 14102 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Manufacturing and Mechanical Properties of Graphene Coated Glass Fabric and Epoxy Composites

by Rehan Umer

J. Compos. Sci. 2018, 2(2), 17; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs2020017 - 21 Mar 2018

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3834

Abstract

The processing characteristics and mechanical properties of glass fabric reinforcements coated with graphene nanoparticles were investigated. Graphene was coated onto either one or both sides of a plain weave glass fabric. The coated fabrics were investigated to measure key process characterization parameters used for vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) process which are, reinforcement compaction response, in-plane, and transverse permeability. It was found that graphene coated glass reinforcements were stiffer than the pure glass reinforcements which will have direct influence on final fiber volume fraction obtained during VARTM processing. The permeability measurement results show that the graphene coated reinforcements filled relatively slower compared with the pure glass samples. Composite samples were then tested for flexural and low velocity impact. The initial results show that the flexural modulus did not change as the wt % of graphene increases. However, a decrease in flexural strength with increasing wt % of graphene was observed. It was also observed that the coating of graphene on glass reinforcements caused delamination between plies and resisted localized damage under low velocity impact as compared to pure glass samples. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Manufacturing, Characterisation and Properties of Advanced Nanocomposites)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 3630 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Milling of Nanoparticles Reinforced Al-Based Metal Matrix Composites

by Alokesh Pramanik, Animesh Kumar Basak, Yu Dong, Subramaniam Shankar and Guy Littlefair

J. Compos. Sci. 2018, 2(1), 13; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs2010013 - 02 Mar 2018

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3429

Abstract

This study investigated the face milling of nanoparticles reinforced Al-based metal matrix composites (nano-MMCs) using a single insert milling tool. The effects of feed and speed on machined surfaces in terms of surface roughness, surface profile, surface appearance, chip surface, chip ratio, machining forces, and force signals were analyzed. It was found that surface roughness of machined surfaces increased with the increase of feed up to the speed of 60 mm/min. However, at the higher speed (100–140 mm/min), the variation of surface roughness was minor with the increase of feed. The machined surfaces contained the marks of cutting tools, lobes of material flow in layers, pits and craters. The chip ratio increased with the increase of feed at all speeds. The top chip surfaces were full of wrinkles in all cases, though the bottom surfaces carried the evidence of friction, adhesion, and deformed material layers. The effect of feed on machining forces was evident at all speeds. The machining speed was found not to affect machining forces noticeably at a lower feed, but those decreased with the increase of speed for the high feed scenario. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Manufacturing, Characterisation and Properties of Advanced Nanocomposites)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 4429 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Polylactic Acid (PLA)/Cellulose Nanowhiskers (CNWs) Composite Nanofibers: Microstructural and Properties Analysis

by Wenqiang Liu, Yu Dong, Dongyan Liu, Yuxia Bai and Xiuzhen Lu

J. Compos. Sci. 2018, 2(1), 4; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs2010004 - 30 Jan 2018

Cited by 39 | Viewed by 5189

Abstract

Polylactic acid (PLA)/cellulose nanowhiskers (CNWs) composite nanofibers were successfully produced by electrospinning mixed PLA solutions with CNWs. Observation by means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirms the uniform distribution of CNWs within the PLA nanofibers along the direction of the fiber axis. The spectra of composite nanofibers based on Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) reveal characteristic hydroxyl groups as evidenced by absorption peaks of CNWs. The addition of hydrophilic CNWs is proven to improve the water absorption ability of PLA nanofibers. The initial cold crystallization temperature decreases with the increasing CNW content, implying the nucleating agent role of CNWs as effective nanofillers. The degree of crystallinity increases from 6.0% for as-electrospun pure PLA nanofibers to 14.1% and 21.6% for PLA/5CNWs and PLA/10CNWs composite nanofibers, respectively. The incorporation of CNWs into PLA is expected to offer novel functionalities to electrospun composite nanofibers in the fields of tissue engineering and membranes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Manufacturing, Characterisation and Properties of Advanced Nanocomposites)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

3585 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Computational Study of the Effects of Processing Parameters on the Nonlinear Elastoplastic Behavior of Polymer Nanoclay Composites

by Arifur Rahman and Xiang-Fa Wu

J. Compos. Sci. 2017, 1(2), 16; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs1020016 - 09 Dec 2017

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3435

Abstract

Processing parameters (e.g., exfoliation extent and volume fraction) of clay particles in polymeric resins play a crucial role in the mechanical properties of polymer nanoclay composites (PNCs). This paper is aimed to investigate the effects of clay aspect ratio and volume fraction on the global mechanical properties (e.g., effective stiffness, yield strength, and ultimate tensile strength) of PNCs. During the process, computational micromechanics models are adopted to simulate the nonlinear elastoplastic behavior of the PNCs of varying clay particle volume fractions and aspect ratios subjected to uniaxial tension. A representative volume element (RVE) of the PNCs is employed for the finite-element-method (FEM) based computational simulations. The polymeric matrix is treated as an idealized elastoplastic solid with isotropic hardening behavior, and the clay particles are treated as stiff elastic platelets distributed evenly in the stack and stagger configurations in the matrix. Seven volume fractions (V_f = 0.5%, 1%, 2%, 5%, 7.5%, 10%, and 15%) and seven aspect ratios (the ratio of platelet length over thickness ρ = 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100) of the reinforcing clay particles are utilized. Numerical experiments show that the effective modulus of the PNCs at small strains increases with the increase of either the clay volume fraction or the platelet aspect ratio largely following those predicted by classic micromechanics models. However, at the low particle aspect ratios (e.g., ρ = 1, 2, 5 and 10), the ultimate tensile strength of the clay composite is nearly independent of the clay volume fraction up to 5% in the present study, i.e., the polymeric matrix governs the PNC strength; at the large particle aspect ratios (e.g., ρ = 20 and 50), the ultimate tensile strength is significantly enhanced with growing clay volume fraction higher than 5% and reaches ~150% of that of the polymeric matrix at ρ = 50 and V_f = 10%. A comparative study is conducted for stack and stagger models for the prediction of the mechanical properties of PNCs. It shows that the stack model predicts slightly larger values of the effective stiffness and tensile strength than the stagger model. The numerical study shows that a large platelet aspect ratio through full exfoliation of the clay particles in matrix is crucial to achieving the preferable mechanical properties of PNCs as evidenced in experiments. The present results can be utilized to quantitatively explain the mechanical properties of clay particle-reinforced composites and PNCs within the framework of classic micromechanics, and provide guidelines for computer-aided nanocomposites design for processing property-tailorable PNCs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Manufacturing, Characterisation and Properties of Advanced Nanocomposites)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

2023 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Comparative Analysis of the Reinforcing Efficiency of Silsesquioxane Nanoparticles versus Apatite Nanoparticles in Chitosan Biocomposite Fibres

by Kean Wang, Pooria Pasbakhsh, Rangika Thilan De Silva and Kheng Lim Goh

J. Compos. Sci. 2017, 1(1), 9; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs1010009 - 18 Aug 2017

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3317

Abstract

A comparative analysis of the effects of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) and hydroxyapatite (HA) for reinforcing chitosan (CS) is given here. Wet-spun CS nanocomposite fibres, blended with HA or POSS nanoparticles, at varying concentrations ranging from 1 to 9% (w/w) were stretched until rupture to determine the mechanical properties related to the elasticity (yield strength and strain, stiffness, resilience energy) and fracture (fracture strength strain and toughness) of the composite. Two-factor analysis of variance of the data concluded that only the fracture-related properties were sensitive to interaction effects between the particle type and concentration. When particle type is considered, the stiffness and yield strength of CS/POSS fibres are higher than CS/HA fibres—the converse holds for yield strain, extensibility and fracture toughness. With regards to sensitivity to particle concentration, stiffness and yield strength reveal trending increase to a peak value (the optimal particle concentration associated with the critical aggregation) and trending decrease thereafter, with increasing particle concentration. Although fracture strength, strain at fracture and fracture toughness are also sensitive to particle concentration, no apparent trending increase/decrease is sustained over the particle concentration range investigated here. This simple study provides further understanding into the mechanics of particle-reinforced composites—the insights derived here concerning the optimized mechanical properties of chitosan composite fibre may be further developed to permit us to tune the mechanical properties to suit the biomedical engineering application. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Manufacturing, Characterisation and Properties of Advanced Nanocomposites)

► Show Figures