The Optical Properties of Unsaturated Polyester Reinforcement by Glass Fibers

Abstract

The effects of laminates chopped strand mat fibers with various weight percentages (0.1, 0.5, 1.1, and 1.7 wt.%) on the optical characteristics of unsaturated polyester prepared by casting technique are examined by the measurement of changes in the visible light and ultraviolet wavelength regions. Due to direct transitions permitted for pure and various polymer composites, polymer composites display a novel UV-visible absorption band in a wavelength range of 320-580 nm. The optical transmission technique is effectively used to determine the optical absorption, transmittance, optical energy gap, extinction coefficient, and reflectance of produced composites. The results reveal that the optical band gap (Eg) for authorized direct transition increases as the concentration of glass fibers increases. Increased fiber content correlates with elevated optical absorption, extinction coefficient, and reflectance. Moreover, transmittance curves showed significant variation with increasing weight percentages of glass fibers.