Advancing Circular Composite Strategies by Vitrimer-Enabled Reuse of Unidirectional Laminates

To efficiently reuse endless fibre-reinforced composites after their life cycle, the recovery of endless fibres including matrix material with subsequent reprocessing in their original state is desirable. Thanks to their covalent adaptive networks, vitrimers offer ideal properties for enabling new repair and circular strategies for composites. In order to evaluate the detachability—meaning the separation of single laminate layers—and recycling potential for continuous fibre reinforcement, process routes and quality parameters must be established. In this study, the double cantilever beam test is used to test the adhesion based on the detachment of continuous fibre layers, and the interlaminare fracture toughness of mode I (GIC) is measured as a parameter for the required energy for detachment. It was shown that GIC increases above the vitrimer transition temperature and is higher than for reference specimens with an epoxy matrix. Surface roughness is measured to determine the mechanical and thermal degradation of the chemical network structure and additionally shows fibre cracking and defects in fibre–matrix interfaces. This allows the recycling process to be evaluated up to the production of a second generation, with the aim of identifying the recycling potential of the vitrimer matrix and implementing it for industrial processes. An efficient recycling strategy of the continuous fibre-reinforced vitrimers was thus demonstrated by hot pressing at 190 °C for 45 min, giving vitrimer samples a second life.