Development and characterization of titanium oxide filled ramie fiber based hybrid composites

This investigation aims to develop and characterize a class of multi-phase hybrid composites consisting of bi-directional ramie fibers, epoxy resin and micro-sized titania (TiO2) particles in different proportions. Conventional hand layup technique is followed for fabrication of these composite slabs with fixed fiber fraction but different filler loadings of 0, 10, 20, and 30 wt%. The composites are subjected to different physical, compositional, and mechanical characterization tests under controlled laboratory conditions. The microstructural features of the composites are studied using scanning electron microscopy and stereo-microscopy. For the compositional analysis, Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique are adopted. The functional groups present in the constituent materials are identified and so also the different phases in the composites. The different characterization tests reveal that with the incorporation of hard titania particles, the tensile, flexural, inter-laminar shear strength, hardness, and impact strength improve. Similarly, the density and moisture absorption behavior are also found to be greatly affected by the inclusion of fillers. Armed with reasonably good mechanical properties and improved hardness, these epoxy-ramie composites filled with titania micro-particles may possibly find applications as functional materials in potential areas like wear prone situations.