Morphological and acoustical characterization of UV-irradiated foam composites from cooking oil and wood flake

• 發表在: JOURNAL OF POLYMER RESEARCH
• Main Authors: Rus, Anika Zafiah M.; Wahab, Hanani Abd; Saif, Yazid; Marsi, Noraini; Zaliran, M. Taufiq; Alamshah, M. Hafizh; Mariza, Ita; Rus, Shaiqah M.; Al-Alimi, Sami; Zhou, Wenbin
• 格式: Article
• 語言: English
• 出版: SPRINGER 2025
• 主題: Polymer Science
• 在線閱讀: https://www-webofscience-com.uitm.idm.oclc.org/wos/woscc/full-record/WOS:001439260600001

Polymer foam composites for sound absorption with eco-friendly attributes have gained significant attention in sustainable materials research. This study investigates the impact of ultraviolet (UV) irradiation on the morphological, mechanical, and acoustical properties of bio-epoxy (BE) and synthetic epoxy (SE) foam composites, incorporating wood flakes as fillers at varying loadings (0-20 wt%). BE, derived from waste cooking oil, demonstrated superior resilience to UV exposure compared to SE, maintaining better pore structure, mechanical stability, and sound absorption performance. The results show that after 6000 h of UV exposure, BE composites retained 12-18% higher sound absorption coefficient (alpha = 0.62-0.78) than SE composites (alpha = 0.50-0.66) at 3000 Hz after 6000 h of UV exposure, demonstrating superior UV resilience. At 6000 Hz, SE outperformed BE (alpha = 0.45 vs. 0.35) as a result of structural degradation in BE at higher frequencies, attributed to the natural stabilizing properties of bio-based additives. This study proves that BE foam composites offer improved durability and acoustic performance under prolonged UV exposure, positioning them as promising materials for sustainable acoustics applications.