Feasibility of using ZnO/epoxy filled hollowed glass fibres (HGFs) for UV resistant polymer composites

Protecting human skin and structural polymers away from an ultraviolet radiation (UVR) attack is a serious concern in all engineering industries at present. In the meanwhile, hollow glass fibres (HGFs) could provide an opportunity to develop a variety of functions for advanced composites. They could be made good use of their advantages by filling up with zinc oxide (ZnO)/epoxy to create an inherent UV absorption property. This paper experimentally investigates the desirable amount of ZnO particles filled into HGFs and their interval inside a composite to maximize its UV absorbability. UV-vis Spectrophotometer was used to investigate the UV absorption property of samples with different ZnO/epoxy compositions. It was found that the HGFs filled by 4 wt% and 5 wt% ZnO with their intervals of 0.2 mm and 0.5 mm had excellent UVB and high UVA absorbability. With continuously increasing the interval between the HGFs, only a 4 wt% ZnO sample can keep the same UV absorption property.