One researcher did ballistic performance of kevlar fiber impregnated with nanosilica/ polyethylene glycol shear thickening fluid. And he loaded 10, 15, 20Wt% of Nanosilica with polyethylene glycol.
After fabrication, how we can confirm the equal distribution of nanosilica over the kevlar. Whether nanosilica is spread all over the kevlar equally or not?
How I can confirm? Any SEM, TEM test required ?
You can conduct FTIR on the Kevlar fibers before and after potential impregnation. By comparing the FTIR spectra before and after impregnation, the presence of nanosilica particles can be confirmed.
EDX, XPS if available, then you can judge from the elemental distribution
EDX would be the suggested route as you can see dispersion directly ( colour mapping). TEM is an ideal route but is expensive when compared to EDX
You can use SEM/EDS to check for homogeneity of Si distribution. If you expect non homogeneity on 1-100 micron scale, you may want to use line scans of Si radiation (maps are not as sencitive). If scale is in range of millimeters or cantimeters, you may want to perform spot analisis for a lot of spots or use not a micro analytical technique, like XRD.
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