Matthew Korey

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Associate R&D Staff at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

The use of large-format three-dimensional (3D) printed thermoplastic composites as formworks for precast concrete structures has emerged as a cost-effective solution addressing challenges related to skilled labor shortages and enabling design optimization. This research work investigates the technical feasibility of recycling large-format 3D printe...

This study investigates the economic and environmental implications of repurposing decommissioned wind turbine blades within infrastructure. Our research reveals that transforming wind blades into high-voltage transmission poles presents a viable economic alternative to traditional steel poles, concurrently offering a reduction in greenhouse gas em...

Fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites continue to be implemented in several markets because of their strength capacity and light weight. Especially in the wind industry, wind blades are made of this material which makes them ideal for wind energy generation, but blades become a problem at end-of-life. Because recycling thermoplastic composites...

Most wind turbine blades reaching end-of-life are sent to landfill where embedded cost, energy, and materials are lost. To avoid landfilling future blades, a broad range of recycling and material recovery approaches have been proposed as solutions in the U.S., each with benefits, challenges, and varying levels of technical maturity. The approaches...

Please see Article PDF for corrigendum text.

Nature provides lots of inspiration for material and structural design for various applications. Deriving design principles from the investigation of nature can provide a rich source of inspiration for the development of multifunctional materials. The bioinspired design templates mainly include mussels, nacre, and various plant species. As a sustai...

Regardless of their applications, polymers are still considered mechanically weak and functionally insufficient for certain demanding coating and adhesive uses. To address those issues, nanomaterials have been extensively studied as reinforcing fillers, which have been proven to effectively promote the performance of polymer coatings/adhesives. How...

Cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) have attracted a great deal of research interest in recent years attributable to the low cost and abundance of lignocellulosic biomass from which they can be extracted. These materials have potential applications in a wide array of areas because of their unique properties such as ultra-high aspect ratios and specific st...

Natural fibers have been widely used for reinforcing polymers attributed to their sustainable nature, excellent stiffness to weight ratio, biodegradability, and low cost compared with synthetic fibers like carbon or glass fibers. Thermoplastic composites offer an advantage of recyclability after their service life, but challenges and opportunities...

Large amounts of plastics are discarded worldwide each year, leading to a significant mass of waste in landfills and pollution to soil, air, and waterways. Upcycling is an efficient way to transform plastic waste into high-value products and can significantly lessen the environmental impact of plastic production/consumption. In this article, curren...

In this paper the effect of two synthetic, pH-responsive co-polymers, U-PVPyPEGMA-H and Q-PVPyPEGMA-H, with pyridine and polyethylene glycol grafts, on silicic acid polymerization is presented. The scope of this work was to evaluate the impact of several experimental parameters, such as working pH, polymer MW, polymer concentration, state of the py...

Tannic acid (TA) is a bio-based high-molecular-weight organic molecule. Although biologically sourced, TA is a pollutant in industrial wastewater streams, and there is desire to find applications in which to downcycle this molecule. Many flame retardants (FRs) used in epoxy are synthesized from petroleum-based monomers. Various bio-based modifiers...

Tannic acid (TA) is a bio-based high molecular weight organic (HMWO), aromatic molecule. Although biologically sourced, TA currently pollutes industrial wastewater streams, and there is an industrial desire to find applications to downcycle this molecule. Epoxy thermosets have revolutionized many industries, but are too flammable to be used in many...

Epoxy thermosets have revolutionized the coating, adhesive, and composite industries but the chemicals from which they are synthesized have significant effects on the environment and human health not only precure but also after crosslinking has occurred. In this study, we propose tannic acid (TA) as an alternative epoxy hardening agent for commerci...

A new family of materials comprised of cellulose, cellulose nanomaterials (CNMs), having properties and functionalities distinct from molecular cellulose and wood pulp, is being developed for applications that were once thought impossible for cellulosic materials. Commercialization, paralleled by research in this field, is fueled by the unique comb...

Sustainable, non-halogenated flame retardants are desired for a variety of industry applications. Lignin, an industrially processed wood derivative, has been examined as a potential sustainable flame retardant additive to polymer systems. Here, the lignin is phosphorylated using a pyridine catalyzed esterification reaction with diphenyl phosphoryl...