Dr. Sohel Rana

Development and Characterization of Microcrystalline Cellulose Based Novel Multi-Scale Biocomposites   Fibrenamics, University of Minho, Portugal

Biography

Dr. Sohel Rana is currently a Senior Scientist and Leader of Composite Materials Group at Fibrous Materials Research Group (Fibrenamics), University of Minho, Portugal. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Textile Technology from University of Calcutta, India, and master’s degree and Ph.D. in Fiber Science and Technology from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT, Delhi), India. His current research areas include advanced fibrous and composite materials, natural fibers, nanocomposites, electrospinning, multifunctional and biocomposites materials and so on. He is the author of 1 book, edited 6 books and contributed to 14 book chapters, 6 keynote and invited papers, 35 papers in international peer-reviewed journals and more than 60 papers in international conferences. He also participates in the editorial board of several scientific journals and is a potential reviewer for numerous scientific journals including Green Chemistry, Composite Science and Technology, Composites Part A, Dyes and Pigments, RSC Advances, Composite Interfaces, Journal of Composite Materials, Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites, Powder Technology, Journal of Nanomaterials, Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Fibres and Polymers, and so on.

Abstract

Recently, multi-scale composites have been developed by combining reinforcements from different length scales (macro, micro and nano), in order to overcome the drawbacks of conventional fibre reinforced composites (FRPs), enhance their performances as well as to introduce special functionalities. Most of the current research and development works on multi-scale composites have been focused on carbon based nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and nano fibres (CNFs). Looking at the outstanding performance of carbon based multi-scale composites, multi-scale composites based on plant fibres and nano materials are also gaining research attention. Plant fibre based multi-scale composites have been developed either through coating of nano cellulose on plant fibre surface or by dispersing nano/micro cellulosic reinforcements within the matrix of plant fibre composites. This paper provides an overview of recent research studies on multi-scale composites, particularly focusing on plant fibres and cellulosic micro and nanomaterials. Production, processing challenges as well as detailed characterization of mechanical, dynamic-mechanical and thermal properties of these composites have been discussed.