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Conventional Thermoset Composites and Their Sustainable Alternatives with Vitrimer Matrix-Waste Management/Recycling
Paraskevi Markouti1, Evanthia Tzouma1, Alkiviadis S Paipetis1
1Department of Materials Science and Eng, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece.
Abstract:
Carbon-fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRPs) with epoxy matrices are widely applied in high-performance structural applications and represent one of the biggest classes of materials with urgent need for end-of-life management. Available waste management methodologies for conventional thermoset composites with a focus on CFRPs are briefly reviewed and their limitations are highlighted. In the quest to obtain materials with mechanical performance, thermal stability, and sustainability, the research community has turned its interest to develop polymer composites with adaptable and dynamic networks in their matrix, and lately also at an interface/interphase level. The current review focuses on the life extension/waste management options that are opened through the introduction of covalent adaptable networks in the epoxy matrix of CFRPs. The processing conditions that are applied for the healing/repairing, welding/reshaping, and/or recycling of CFRPs are presented in detail, and compared based on the most common dynamic exchange reactions.
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