Introduction to the Fabrication of Polymers and Polymeric Composites

Abstract

Increasing concern over environmental issues around the world has generated a desperate need for eco-friendly polymer and polymeric composites with specific properties. This need is also driven by polymers and their derivatives finding wide-ranging applications in many diverse industries. These materials possess distinct properties like low overall weight, intrinsic formability, cost-effectiveness, etc., which may invoke properties that can facilitate the replacement of traditional construction materials such as steel and cement. The current chapter describes the organization of the book contents and includes a consolidated view of fabrication methodologies for polymers and polymer composites. Polymers by themselves may lack the required mechanical strength, toughness, creep resistance, thermal stability, etc., and micro/nanofillers and multi-fiber hybridization may be added to them to offset these disadvantages, to improve their performance, and to utilize them in high end applications. The addition of micro-fillers, natural fibers (e.g., bamboo fiber), synthetic fibers, or nanomaterials can be very well achieved by employing a suitable fabrication method. This chapter provides a summary of various fabrication processes, such as photochemical, laser assisted, and additive manufacturing methods. Fabrication protocols for synthesizing polymer composites, such as nanomaterial filled epoxy, reduced graphene oxide modified epoxy, and carbon nano-onions, are also discussed.