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Processes
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Polymer Composites: Materials and Processes for Challenging Applications
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Polymer Composites: Materials and Processes for Challenging Applications

A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Processes".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 September 2024 | Viewed by 5857

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Heon E. Park

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Canterbury, Christchurch 8041, New Zealand
Interests: waste to material conversion; polymer rheology; polymer composites with fibers and particles; polymer characterizations
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Even though there are a huge number of neat polymers available, composite materials have been developed and used to give desired functions with a relatively small amount of effort. We can expect a truly large number of functions by combining various candidate materials using different processes, and this is a great advantage of composites. On the other hand, currently, we are facing serious challenges such as climate crisis, plastic pollution, accumulated waste, a lack of enough resources, and medical issues. Thus, we are urgently looking for solutions to those by developing new materials and processes to give desired functions yet consuming fewer resources of materials and energy.

In recent years, the field of polymer composites has been significantly advanced. For example, new types of raw materials were discovered, new processes to fabricate composites were developed, and advanced functions were achieved. This Special Issue is aimed to provide an up-to-date picture of recent advances in polymer composites, especially to deal with challenges that we are facing in the early 21st Century.

Dr. Heon E. Park
Guest Editor

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. Processes 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 2400 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

  • biodegradable composites
  • energy storage
  • resistant to extreme conditions
  • smart materials (shape changing, shape memory, self-healing)
  • 3D printing
  • biomedical materials
  • conductive materials
  • upcycling wastes

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research

3 pages, 177 KiB  
Editorial
Special Issue—Polymer Composites: Materials and Processes for Challenging Applications
by Heon E. Park
Processes 2023, 11(4), 1045; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11041045 - 30 Mar 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1216
Abstract
Despite the availability of numerous neat polymers, polymer composites offer a wide range of advantages over traditional materials such as metals, ceramics, and neat polymers [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Composites: Materials and Processes for Challenging Applications)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

14 pages, 2816 KiB  
Article
Biodegradable Composite Film of Brewers’ Spent Grain and Poly(Vinyl Alcohol)
by Lilian Lin, Sarah Mirkin and Heon E. Park
Processes 2023, 11(8), 2400; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11082400 - 9 Aug 2023
Viewed by 1313
Abstract
Plastic pollution and food waste are two pressing global challenges that require immediate attention and innovative solutions. In this study, we address these challenges by upcycling brewers’ spent grain (BSG) into biodegradable composite films. BSG, a by-product of the beer brewing process, is [...] Read more.
Plastic pollution and food waste are two pressing global challenges that require immediate attention and innovative solutions. In this study, we address these challenges by upcycling brewers’ spent grain (BSG) into biodegradable composite films. BSG, a by-product of the beer brewing process, is commonly discarded in landfills or used as animal feed. By utilizing BSG as a raw material for biodegradable films, we simultaneously reduce waste and decrease plastic pollution. To create the composite films, we employed poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and glycerol as binder materials, along with hexamethoxymethylmelamine (HMMM) as a water-repelling agent. By varying the ratios of these components, we investigated the effects on film properties. Our characterization included assessing moisture uptake and tensile properties. The results revealed that the practical BSG content in the films was 20–60 wt%. Films with this composition exhibited a balance between moisture absorption and mechanical strength. The addition of glycerol improved the flexibility and toughness of the films, while HMMM reduced moisture absorption, enhancing their water resistance. This study contributes to the development of sustainable materials by showcasing the potential of upcycling BSG into valuable biodegradable films. By transforming food waste into useful applications, we reduce environmental burdens and promote a circular economy. Further research is warranted to explore the potential applications and optimize the properties of BSG-based composites. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Composites: Materials and Processes for Challenging Applications)
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13 pages, 3907 KiB  
Article
Fabrication of Strong Self-Reinforced Polyethylene Terephthalate Composites through the In Situ Nanofibrillation Technology
by Eric S. Kim and Patrick C. Lee
Processes 2023, 11(5), 1434; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11051434 - 9 May 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1229
Abstract
Fabrication of self-reinforced polyethylene terephthalate (PET) has been achieved through the in situ generation of PET fibrils via a spun bond process. The reinforcement fibrils created from the PET with higher Tm are made from a unique in situ processing method. As [...] Read more.
Fabrication of self-reinforced polyethylene terephthalate (PET) has been achieved through the in situ generation of PET fibrils via a spun bond process. The reinforcement fibrils created from the PET with higher Tm are made from a unique in situ processing method. As a result, the fibrils are well dispersed and distributed in the lower Tm PET matrix. The high degree of molecular similarity affords perfect interfaces between the matrix and dispersed phase, leading to excellent stress transfer from the matrix to the dispersed fibrils. While the extremely large interfaces from the nanofibrillation process can maximize the advantage of the excellent molecular similarity of the self-reinforced polymeric composites, few studies have been conducted to research nanofibrillar self-reinforced polymeric composite systems. Hence, as a proof of concept, this work provides new insight into an approach for developing a self-reinforced polymeric system with a nanofibrillation process. This process increases the tensile strength of PET composites by up to 15% compared to composites made by a simple blending process and 47% higher than neat PET. Furthermore, extensional viscosity measurements show a strain-hardening behavior in the fibrillated PET composites not observed in the neat PET and showed minimal behavior in un-fibrillated PET composites. The foam process results reveal that the presence of PET fibrils in PET improves the expansion ratio as well as the cell density of the PET composites. Specifically, compared to the PET composite foams without the fibrillation process, fibrillated PET composite foams showed up to 3.7 times higher expansion ratios and one to two orders of magnitude higher cell densities. In thermal conductivity measurements, fibrillated PET composite foams achieved thermal conductivity of as low as 0.032 W/mK. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Composites: Materials and Processes for Challenging Applications)
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12 pages, 6681 KiB  
Article
Preparation of Thermally Conductive Silicone Rubber-Based Ultra-Thin Sheets with Low Thermal Resistance and High Mechanical Properties
by Mengqi Liu, Shengfu Tong, Xinhua Guo, Jing Ye, Jianping Liu and Chenlu Bao
Processes 2023, 11(4), 1184; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11041184 - 12 Apr 2023
Viewed by 1589
Abstract
Thermally conductive silicone rubber (TCSR)-based thin sheets with low thermal resistance and high electrical insulation properties have been widely used in thermal management applications in the electronic and energy storage fields. The low thermal resistance is mainly attributed to the sheets’ small thickness. [...] Read more.
Thermally conductive silicone rubber (TCSR)-based thin sheets with low thermal resistance and high electrical insulation properties have been widely used in thermal management applications in the electronic and energy storage fields. The low thermal resistance is mainly attributed to the sheets’ small thickness. In order to further decrease the sheets’ thermal resistance, it is necessary to decrease their thickness. However, the sheets mostly have a thickness of at least 0.20 mm, and it is still a challenge to decrease the thickness to less than 0.10 mm mainly due to the difficulty of smooth calendering through a narrow roll-to-roll gap on calenders. Here, a low-viscosity calendering method has been developed to prepare TCSR-based ultra-thin sheets. The sheets present unprecedentedly small thickness (~0.08 mm), low thermal resistance (0.87 cm2K/W), high tensile strength (~8 MPa), high flexibility, high electrical resistance (>1014 Ω·cm), and high thermal dissipation (>30 °C decrease in LED working temperature). Comparison studies between this new method and the conventional preparation method have been carried out to understand the mechanism of the improvements. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Composites: Materials and Processes for Challenging Applications)
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