BIO-BASED COMPOSITES WITH ENHANCED MECHANICAL STRENGTH AND FLAME RETARDANCY

Composites are versatile and useful in many fields, including aerospace, automotive, construction, and healthcare, due to their high mechanical strength. It is common practice to synthesize these materials using petroleum-based chemicals. Nonetheless, in the twenty-first century, scientists are more interested in using renewable resources to create composites. The greatest substitute for petroleum-based chemicals is vegetable oil. It has unsaturated double bonds that are modifiable chemically. In the present study, bio-polyol was synthesized using castor oil, an inedible vegetable oil. A ring-opening process was used to modify it and produce castor oil-based polyol. The synthesized castor oil-based polyol was characterized by spectroscopic and wet chemistry techniques. Composite materials were synthesized by using COP, TiO2 as an inorganic filler, and three different flame retardants. Melamine, Melamine Phytate and Melamine Phosphate were used as FRs. Here, MPht was synthesized by using bio-based phytic acid. The compression strength of composite containing 3 wt.% of MPht was 27.4 MPa which is the highest among all prepared composites. Moreover, tensile strength and hardness were observed to be 13 MPa and 70, respectively. The flammability data showed a weight loss of only 4% during the horizontal burning test for composite with 5 wt.% of MPht. These composites were thermally stable up to 350 OC. Our research suggests bio-based composites have the potential to provide a sustainable alternative to conventional products derived from petroleum. These composites offer several advantages, including renewable sourcing, reduced environmental impact, and excellent mechanical strength.