Flexural and impact properties of oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB)–polypropylene composites—the effect of maleic anhydride chemical modification of EFB

Abstract

This study focused on the effect of chemical modification of oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) filler on the flexural and impact properties of EFB-filled polypropylene (PP) composites. EFB filler has been chemically modified with maleic anhydride (MAH). The modification involved the reaction of EFB and MAH (dissolved in dimethylformamide) at 90°C. The composites with MAH-treated EFB showed higher flexural and impact strength than those with untreated EFB. The modification had significantly improved the flexural modulus and toughness of the composites. This may be attributed to the enhanced adhesion between the MAH-treated EFB and PP matrix, as shown in the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) study. Fourier Transform Infra-Red analysis (FTIR) showed evidence of C=C and C=O groups from MAH at 1630cm −1 and 1730cm −1, respectively. The analysis also showed a reduction of absorption at 1630cm −1 for MAH modified EFB–PP composites which indicated the reaction of C=C from MAH with PP.