Low-cost, environmentally friendly route to produce glass fiber-reinforced polymer composites with microfibrillated cellulose interphase

In this article, an easy, effective, and eco-friendly method to improve the mechanical performance of glass fiber-reinforced polymer composites is proposed, which involves the coating of unsized glass fiber fabric layers by simple immersion in an aqueous suspension containing sugarcane bagasse microfibrillated cellulose (MFC), followed by vacuum-assisted liquid resin infusion as the processing method. From atomic force microscopy, a 250 nm MFC-rich interphase was found, revealing its ability to build micro- and nanobridges acting as bulk epoxy matrix and GF linker. The interlaminar shear strength, quasi-static tensile, and flexural tests, as well as the morphological and fractographic inspection of test coupons containing the secondary substructure, broadly supported the assumption of the efficient role on the interfacial level of this nano reinforcement by enhancing the load transference and distribution from the polymer matrix to the main reinforcing fiber system compared to baseline unsized fiber-reinforced epoxy laminates. This finding permits this class of composite materials to be considered as having great potential to achieve products with excellent performance/cost ratios. (c) 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 44183.