Hydrogen-bond-mediated island-chain interfacial structure for enhanced tribological performance of sugarcane bagasse/epoxy composites

Abstract

The inherent brittleness and poor wear resistance of epoxy resin (EP) limit its industrial applications. Herein, sugarcane bagasse (BG) was used as a reinforcing filler in BG/EP composites. The effects of BG particle size and content on the mechanical and tribological properties of the composites were systematically investigated. The composite containing 19 wt% of 300–400 mesh BG exhibited a tensile strength of 83.1 MPa and a toughness of 19.6 MJ m −3 , representing increases of 27.6% and approximately 9.7%, respectively, compared with pure EP. Its wear rate was reduced by 96.4%. Scanning electron microscopy showed that BG was uniformly dispersed and embedded in the EP matrix, with close interfacial contact. Energy decomposition and hydrogen-bond statistics from molecular dynamics simulations indicated that hydrogen bonding and van der Waals interactions enhanced the interfacial bonding between the fibers and the matrix. This “island-chain” reinforcement mechanism (dispersed BG domains connected by hydrogen-bond-mediated interfacial interactions) facilitates stress distribution and suppresses microcrack propagation during wear. Preliminary laboratory-scale application tests showed that, following 60 min of cumulative polishing, the mass loss of the 19 wt% BG/EP polishing disc was 53.7% and 45.6% lower than that of the pure EP disc and the commercial resin-based polishing disc, respectively. In the epoxy-flooring braking test, the trolley’s stopping distance on 19 wt% BG/EP was 13.5% shorter than that on pure EP and comparable to that on commercial epoxy flooring. These results provide an experimental basis for the value-added utilization of BG in resin-based wear-resistant functional materials.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Industrial Crops and Products, 2026 · DOI ↗