Title
Development of a completely recyclable glass fiber-reinforced epoxy thermoset composite
Author
Lejeail, M.
Fischer, H.R.
Publication year
2021
Abstract
Stimulated by the growing demand for more sustainable polymer systems, experiments were performed to develop completely recyclable epoxy-based thermoset composite materials involving the separation, recovery, and complete reuse of both components of the composite, the resin and the fibers. In this study, a possibility to design such composites by incorporation of reversible chemistry for dedicated repair and recycling is demonstrated. Relying on Diels–Alder (DA) adducts located on the cross-links between the polymeric chains, uncross-linking the thermoset via the reverse DA reactions becomes possible. The network breaks up at elevated temperatures in shorter segments, which can be solubilized in solvents like acetic acid, butan-1-ol, or toluene. Specific processes for each of these solvents were developed to recover the resin and fibers with virtually unchanged properties. Both components were used in a second manufacturing step to produce recycled composites which display properties comparable with the original composites.
Subject
Cross-linking
Resins
Separation techniques
Synthesis and processing techniques
Thermosets
To reference this document use:
http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:a83469ab-b82b-418f-80c5-ef89466ed0ea
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/app.49690
TNO identifier
946575
Publisher
John Wiley and Sons Inc
ISSN
0021-8995
Source
Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 138 (138)
Bibliographical note
Funding information: TKI
Document type
article