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Effects of fibre-surface morphology on the mechanical properties of Porifera-inspired rubber-matrix composites

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Abstract

In this paper, mineralised organic fibre morphologies, inspired by the structures of Porifera (sponges) are correlated to the mechanical performance of fibre reinforced rubbers. The mineralised structures are rich in calcium carbonate and silica. These compounds nucleate and precipitate on the fibre surfaces yielding different morphologies as a function of mineral ion concentrations. Smaller mineralised precipitates manifestly improve the mechanical performance of composites while thicker precipitates enveloping the fibres give rise to inferior properties. Mechanisms and evidenced reasoning for these differences are reported herein.

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Acknowledgements

The primary author, Parvez Alam, is extremely grateful to the marine biology students at Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, for their invaluable help in safely gathering the marine organisms used in this study. The primary author is also grateful to the Ella and George Ehrnrooth Foundation, Finland, for their financial support in this project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Functional Materials, Abo Akademi University, Porthaninkatu 3, 20500, Turku, Finland

    Parvez Alam & Martti Toivakka

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, Simon Bolivar University, Valle de Sartenejas, Municipio Baruta, Caracas, Estado Miranda, Venezuela

    Daniela Graf Stillfried

  3. Department of Production Engineering, Simon Bolivar University, Valle de Sartenejas, Municipio Baruta, Caracas, Estado Miranda, Venezuela

    Jessika Celli

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  1. Parvez Alam
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  2. Daniela Graf Stillfried
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  3. Jessika Celli
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  4. Martti Toivakka
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Correspondence to Parvez Alam.

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Alam, P., Stillfried, D.G., Celli, J. et al. Effects of fibre-surface morphology on the mechanical properties of Porifera-inspired rubber-matrix composites. Appl. Phys. A 111, 1031–1036 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-013-7637-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-013-7637-z

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