Effect of short fiber reinforcement on the properties of recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate)/poly(ethylene naphthalate) blends

In this study, short carbon (CF), glass (GF) and hybrid carbon/glass fiber reinforced recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate)/poly(ethylene 2,6-naphthalate) (r-PET/PEN) blends were prepared by melt mixing method. The mechanical, thermal and morphological properties of composites were investigated by using tensile tests, differential scanning calorimeter, dynamic mechanical analyzer and scanning electron microscopy. The microscopic analysis showed that there is a better interfacial interaction between fiber and polymer matrix for CF reinforced composite. It was found that addition of short fiber reinforcement to the r-PET/PEN blend improved the tensile strength and Young’s modulus values more than the addition of PEN into r-PET. According to DMA analysis, fiber reinforcement increased the storage modulus of composites when compared with r-PET/PEN blend and among them storage modulus of CF reinforced composite was the highest. It was concluded that mechanical properties of r-PET can be enhanced with addition of PEN and more efficiently with short fiber reinforcement.