Vinyl ester (VE) composites were filled with 5–30 wt.% Juglans regia seed shell filler (JRSSF) to evaluate structural, thermal, and mechanical performance. Infrared spectroscopy established strong OH and CO interactions as… Click to show full abstract
Vinyl ester (VE) composites were filled with 5–30 wt.% Juglans regia seed shell filler (JRSSF) to evaluate structural, thermal, and mechanical performance. Infrared spectroscopy established strong OH and CO interactions as evidence for effective filler–matrix bonding. X‐ray diffraction established the presence of an amorphous VE peak (2 θ ≈ 18.8°) together with new peaks corresponding to JRSSF crystallites, constituting a stable dual‐phase structure. Thermal analysis established three‐stage degradation, in which 20 wt.% JRSSF corresponds to the highest thermal stability. Mechanical properties were found to be best at 20 wt.%: tensile strength 33.4 MPa, modulus 2.13 GPa, flexural strength 56.3 MPa, flexural modulus 6.98 GPa, impact strength 9.78 kJ/m 2 , and hardness 38, whereas heat‐deflection temperature was raised from 66.6°C (neat VE) to 79.4°C at 30 wt.%. At over 20 wt.% filler, agglomeration, and poor wetting of the matrix decreased performance. Microscopic examination confirmed uniform dispersion and good interfacial adhesion to 20 wt.% with voids and pull‐outs at high loadings. The findings demonstrate that JRSSF, economic lignocellulosic waste, successfully improves the thermal stability, stiffness, and impact strength of VE composites, and 20 wt.% was found to be the best reinforcement level for structural and thermal applications.
               
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