The effect of cellulose nanocrystal coatings on the glass fiber-epoxy interphase

This study focuses on understanding the effect of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) on glass fiber/epoxy interfacial interactions. The glass fibers (GF) were coated with solutions containing cellulose nanomaterial. The parameters that were investigated were the CNC surface chemistry, concentration, and dispersing medium, i.e., aqueous solution only versus emulsions. To determine the effect of the CNC coatings on the interfacial adhesion, specimens of a single GF in an epoxy matrix were prepared for GF coating by varying the coating formulations. The interfacial shear stress (IFSS) was determined by the single fiber fragmentation test (SFFT). Following the SFFT, the samples were investigated by cross-polarized microscopy in order to understand the fracture modes which are related to the nature of the interphase. According to the SFFT data and photoelastic fracture patterns, both the emulsion and aqueous coatings containing cellulose nanocrystals functionalized with methyl(triphenyl) phosphonium (CNCPh) improve the IFSS in comparison to coated GFs without CNCs.