The effect of nanocellulose coating on S2-glass and E-glass fabric composites

In this study, unidirectional E-glass and S2-glass fabrics are coated with cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), and the influence of the coating on the glass fiber (GF)-epoxy matrix interfacial properties and GF fabric-epoxy laminate tensile properties are investigated. The methodology and processing conditions for vacuum-assisted slot die coating of CNC dispersions onto GF fabrics are described. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and single fiber fragmentation test (SFFT) results determined that the addition of vacuum assist was crucial to producing uniform CNC coatings, preserving good fiber separation, and producing consistent interfaces for both E-glass and S2-glass composites. The deposition of CNC onto E-glass fabrics increased the fragment count following SFFT from 43 to 50, correlating with a fiber-matrix interfacial adhesion enhancement of 14 %, and resulted an increase in on-axis tensile strength, from 718 to 823 MPa, a total of 15%, for unidirectional E-glass/epoxy laminates.