Toughening of bamboo fibers/unsaturated polyester composites with 2‐acetoacetoxyethyl methacrylate

Bamboo fibers (BFs)‐reinforced unsaturated polyester (UPE) composites were prepared by hand lay‐up compression molding. The UPE resins were modified with 2‐acetoacetoxyethyl methacrylate (AAEM) and designed to improve the flexibility and toughness of the BFs–UPE composites. The results indicated that the toughness of the composites significantly increased as the AAEM usage increased. When compared with the untreated UPE composites, the composites obtained from AAEM modified UPE resins (with a 20:80 weight ratio of AAEM to UPE) had 21.7% higher impact strength. Dynamic mechanical analysis showed that incorporation of AAEM significantly increased the damping parameter and decreased glass transition temperature of the composites due to the introduction of flexible segments of AAEM into the UPE resins. Scanning electron microscopy images of the impact‐fractured surfaces of the composites revealed that AAEM modification improved the interfacial adhesion between BFs and UPE matrices. The main mechanism for the increase in the toughness of the composites could be due to the increased ductility of the matrices. POLYM. COMPOS., 40:1595–1601, 2019. © 2018 Society of Plastics Engineers