Influence of SiC/BaSO₄/Graphite Nano Fillers on the Properties of Flax Fiber-reinforced Epoxy Biocomposites
J. Environ. Nanotechnol., Volume 14, No 3 (September 2025) pp. 287-296
Abstract
The fabrication and characterization of eleven distinct flax fiber-reinforced epoxy biocomposites (S1–S11) using varied weight percentages (wt%) of silane-treated silicon carbide (SiC), barium sulfate (BaSO4) and graphite as nano fillers are the main objectives of this work. The primary objective was to evaluate the impact of these reinforcements on density, compressive strength, chemical composition using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Thermogravimetric Analysis. The produced biocomposites included 10 reinforced composites with three-layer flax fiber mats (15 wt%) and a control sample (S1) with simply an epoxy matrix. The nano fillers of 3, 5 and 7 wt% in relation to the matrix were incorporated in the biocomposites. The sample S4 (flax fiber with 5 wt% SiC) had the best mechanical performance in the density and compressive strength tests, making it the most viable option for load-bearing applications. Thermal analysis showed that S11 (flax fiber with 7 wt% graphite) had the highest thermal stability, suggesting enhanced heat resistance. These results demonstrate the potential of flax fiber-based biocomposites with optimal nano filler content for applications requiring enhanced thermal stability and mechanical strength. The study offers insightful information about environmentally friendly composite materials for industrial and structural applications.
Full Text
Reference
Akter, M., Uddin, M. H. and Tania, I. S., Biocomposites based on natural fibers and polymers: A review on properties and potential applications, J. Reinf. Plast. Compos., 41(17-18), 705-742(2022).
https://doi.org/10.1177/07316844211070609
Amjad, A., Rahman, A. A. A., Awais, H., Abidin, M. S. Z. and Khan, J., A review investigating the influence of nano filler addition on the mechanical, thermal and water absorption properties of cellulosic fibre reinforced polymer composite, J. Ind. Text., 51(1_suppl), 65S-100S(2022).
https://doi.org/10.1177/15280837211057580
Ashori, A. and Nourbakhsh, A., Effects of nanoclay as a reinforcement filler on the physical and mechanical properties of wood-based composite, J. Compos. Mater., 43(18), 1869-1875(2009).
https://doi.org/10.1177/0021998309340936
Balaji, A., Arunkumar, S., Madhanagopal, A. and Purushothaman, R., Coir/banana hybrid composites reinforced with poly vinyl ester for mechanical, water absorption and thermal characterization, Biomass Convers. Biorefin., 14(20), 26489-26496(2023).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-023-04615-w
Balaji, A., Karthikeyan, B. and Raj, C. S., Bagasse fiber–the future biocomposite material: a review, Int. J. Chem. Tech. Res., 7(1), 223-233(2015).
Bernaoui, A., Lebrun, G. and Ruiz, E., High performance natural fiber composites from mat and UD flax reinforcements backed with a mat Binder: A study of mat fiber surface fibrillation, Composites, Part A., 160, 107064(2022).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2022.107064
Callister, J. W. D. and Rethwisch, D. G., Materials science and engineering: an introduction, John wiley & sons, 564-605 (2020).
Chollakup, R., Tantatherdtam, R., Ujjin, S. and Sriroth, K., Pineapple leaf fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites: Effects of fiber length and fiber content on their characteristics, J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 119(4), 1952-1960(2011).
https://doi.org/10.1002/app.32910
Dejene, B. K., Advancing Natural Fiber-Reinforced Composites Through Incorporating ZnO Nano fillers in the Polymeric Matrix: A Review, J. Nat. Fibers., 21(1), 2356015(2024).
https://doi.org/10.1080/15440478.2024.2356015
Dias, H. B., Bernardi, M. I. B., Marangoni, V. S., Bernardi, A. C. A., Rastelli, A. N. S. and Hernandes, A. C., Synthesis, characterization and application of Ag doped ZnO nanoparticles in a composite resin, Mater. Sci. Eng. C., 96, 391-401(2019).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msec.2018.10.063
Dinesh, T., Kadirvel, A. and Hariharan, P., Thermo-mechanical and wear behaviour of surface-treated pineapple woven fibre and nano-silica dispersed mahua oil toughened epoxy composite, Silicon, 12, 2911-2920(2020).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-020-00387-4
Das, G. A. G. M., Sivaraman, R., Nagabooshnam, N. and Verma, R. R., Characterization of heat-treated rice husk Si3N4 bioceramic on cellulosic corn husk fiber-polyester composite, Biomass Convers. Biorefin., 14(23), 29393–29402 (2024).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-024-05390-y
Essabir, H., Boujmal, R., Bensalah, M. O., Rodrigue, D. and Bouhfid, R., Mechanical and thermal properties of hybrid composites: Oil-palm fiber/clay reinforced high density polyethylene, Mech. Mater., 98, 36-43(2016).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mechmat.2016.04.008
Faruk, O., Bledzki, A. K., Fink, H. P. and Sain, M., Biocomposites reinforced with natural fibers: 2000–2010, Prog. Polym. Sci., 37(11), 1552-1596(2012).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.progpolymsci.2012.04.003
Guo, Y., Lyu, Z., Yang, X., Lu, Y., Ruan, K., Wu, Y., Kong, J. and Gu, J., Enhanced thermal conductivities and decreased thermal resistances of functionalized boron nitride/polyimide composites, Composites, Part B., 164, 732–739(2019).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2019.01.099
Jawaid, M., Chee, S. S., Asim, M., Saba, N., and Kalia, S., Sustainable kenaf/bamboo fibers/clay hybrid nanocomposites: Properties, environmental aspects, and applications, J. Cleaner Prod., 330, 129938(2022).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.129938
JinQiu, Q., Xie. J., WenJi, Y. and SiMin, C., Effects of characteristic inhomogeneity of bamboo culm nodes on mechanical properties of bamboo fiber reinforced composite, J. For. Res., 26(4), 1057-1060(2015).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-015-0106-0
Kabir, M. M., Wang, H., Lau, K. T. and Cardona, F., Chemical treatments on plant-based natural fibre reinforced polymer composites: An overview, Compos. Part B., 43(7), 2883-2892(2012).
Kalia, S., Kaith, B. S. and Kaur, I., Pretreatments of natural fibers and their application as reinforcing material in polymer composites—a review, Polym. Eng. Sci., 49(7), 1253-1272(2009).
https://doi.org/10.1002/pen.21328
Kumar, P., Ashok, R. B., Kumar, M. and Roopa., Natural nano fillers materials for the bio-composites: a review, J. Indian Chem. Soc., 99(10), 100715(2022).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jics.2022.100715
Liyanage, C. D. and Pieris, M., A physico-chemical analysis of coconut shell powder, Procedia Chem., 16, 222-228(2015).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proche.2015.12.045
Lakshmaiya, N., Chukka, N. D. K. R., Kaliappan, S., Balaji, V., Ross, N. S. and Maranan, R., An integrated Artificial neural network technique to optimize the various parameters of Pineapple/SiO2/epoxy-based nanocomposites under NaOH treatment, Results Eng., 26, 104737 (2025).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rineng.2025.104737
Mokhothu, T. H. and John, M. J., Review on hygroscopic aging of cellulose fibres and their biocomposites, Carbohydr. Polym., 131, 337-354(2015).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2015.06.027
Pokharel, A., Falua, K. J., Babaei-Ghazvini, A. and Acharya, B., Biobased polymer composites: a review, J. Compos. Sci., 6(9), 255(2022).
https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs6090255
Ramesh, M., Plant fibre reinforced polymer composites: Review of recent developments, Mater. Today Proc., 3(6), 4182–4190 (2016).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2016.11.127
Rouilly, A. and Vaca‐Garcia, C., Bio‐Based Materials. Introduction to chemicals from biomass, Willy, 205-248 (2015).
Sharma, N., Saxena, T., Alam, S. N., Ray, B. C., Biswas, K. and Jha, S. K., Ceramic-based nanocomposites: A perspective from carbonaceous nano fillers, Mater. Today Commun., 31, 103764(2022).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtcomm.2022.103764
Shen, Y. L., and Chawla, N., On the correlation between hardness and tensile strength in particle reinforced metal matrix composites, Mater. Sci. Eng. A., 297(1-2), 44–47(2001).
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0921-5093(00)01256-9
Swaminathan, J., Ramalingam, M. and Sundaraganesan, N., Molecular structure and vibrational spectra of 3-amino-5-hydroxypyrazole by density functional method, Spectrochim. Acta, Part A., 71(5), 1776–1782(2009).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.saa.2008.06.044
Tong, Y. Z., Zhao, W. J., Wu, W., Zhang, D. L., He, G. J., Yang, Z. T. and Cao, X. W., Realizing enhanced dielectric and mechanical performance of polyvinylidene fluoride/SiC nanocomposites through a bio-inspired interface design, Adv. Compos. Hybrid Mater., 5(1), 263-277(2022).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s42114-021-00333-x
Vimalanathan, P., Venkateshwaran, N., and Santhanam, V., Mechanical, dynamic mechanical, and thermal analysis of Shorea robusta-dispersed polyester composite, Int. J. Polym. Anal. Charact., 21(4), 314–326(2016).
https://doi.org/10.1080/1023666X.2016.1155818
Wawrzyńczak, A., Chudzińska, J. and Feliczak‐Guzik, A., Metal and metal oxides nanoparticles as nano fillers for biodegradable polymers, ChemPhysChem., 25(10), e202300823(2024).
https://doi.org/10.1002/cphc.202300823
Yibowei, M. E., Adekoya, J. G., Adediran, A. A. and Adekomaya, O., Carbon-based nano filler in polymeric composites for supercapacitor electrode materials: a review, Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res., 28, 26269-26279(2021).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13589-z
Yusuf, M. and Haji, A., Handbook of nanofibers and nanocomposites: Characteristics, synthesis, and applications in textiles, Jenny Stanford Publishing, 1st Ed., 1-278(2023).
