Eggshell (ES), a waste byproduct from food processing and hatcheries, contains 95% calcium carbonate (CC), making it a potentially attractive, less expensive substitute for commercial CC. Past work used complex grinding–sieving and/or chemical modification steps to aid in dispersing ES in polymers such as polypropylene (PP). Both steps add to the cost and reduce the green aspect of the composit...

The special topic ‘‘Metaland Polymer-Matrix Composites’’ is intended to capture the state of the art in the research and practice of functional composites. The current set of articles related to metal-matrix composites includes reviews on functionalities such as self-healing, self-lubricating, and selfcleaning capabilities; research results on a variety of aluminum-matrix composites; and invest...

The energy harvesting efficiency of electrospun poly(vinylidene fluoride), its copolymer vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene and composites of the later with piezoelectric BaTiOon interdigitated electrodes has been investigated. Further, a study of the influence of the electrospinning processing parameters on the size and distribution of http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sna.2013.03.023 2 the com...

This review deals with the processing and properties of novel lightweight metal matrix composites. Conventionally, hard and strong ceramic particles are used as reinforcement to fabricate metal matrix composites (MMCs). However, the poor mechanical properties associated with the interfacial de-cohesion and undesirable reactions at (ceramic) particle–(metallic) matrix interface represent major d...

The fascination for hierarchically structured hard tissues such as enamel or nacre arises from their unique structure-properties-relationship. During the last decades this numerously motivated the synthesis of composites, mimicking the brick-and-mortar structure of nacre. However, there is still a lack in synthetic engineering materials displaying a true hierarchical structure. Here, we present...