Dielectric and mechanical properties of alkali- and silane-treated bamboo-epoxy nanocomposites

Nanocomposites of silane- and alkali-treated bamboo fiber and epoxy resin incorporated with nanoclay were prepared. The possibility of obtaining relatively low dielectric constant (ε) bamboo-epoxy nanodielectrics with improved mechanical properties was demonstrated. Silane coupling agents and mercerization of bamboo mats resulted in decrease of dielectric constant (ε) and dissipation factor (Tan δ) of bamboo-epoxy composites due to decrease in orientation polarization by the reduction of hydrophilicity as compared to untreated composites. The tensile and flexural strength of alkali-treated bamboo-epoxy nanocomposites with 3 wt% nanoclay increased by 60% and 42%, respectively, as compared to pure composites. The minimum value of dielectric constant 1.77 at 1 MHz was obtained for mercerized aminopropyltriethoxy silane-treated bamboo-epoxy nanocomposites. Tan δ and ε decreased with increasing frequency for all the composites. Ultrasound sonication was used in the dispersion of nanoclay. Scanning electron microscope was used to investigate the nanoclay particles distribution inside the bamboo-epoxy nanocomposites.