Novel biocomposites from poly(trimethylene terephthalate) and recycled carbon fibres

Biobased composites from recycled carbon fibre and poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT) were fabricated by extrusion followed by injection moulding. The mechanical, thermal and morphological properties of the composites were investigated as a function of recycled carbon fibre content. The mechanical properties such as tensile, flexural and notched impact strength as well as tensile and flexural modulus of the composites increased with increasing recycled carbon fibre content. The improvement of stiffness and toughness of composite materials is one of the important findings of this investigation. Experimental values of tensile strength and modulus were compared with parallel, series and Hirsch's models. The morphology of the composites was analysed by scanning electron microscopy. Differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis and dynamic mechanical analysis were used to measure the thermal properties of the composites. Recycled carbon fibre loading appreciably improved the storage modulus of PTT. Thermal stability and crystallization temperature of PTT also improved with the recycled carbon fibre content.