Improvement of Interface Adhesion of Poultry Feathers Used as Reinforcing Fibers in Composites

Abstract

In this paper, untreated poultry feather (UPF) was used and highly split and hydrophilic poultry feathers were successfully prepared via chemical treatment and low temperature nitrogen plasma treatment. Then, the chemically treated poultry feather (CPF) and chemical-plasm-treated poultry feather (CPPF) were, respectively, used as shorted-fiber reinforcement for keratin composite films. The microscope images showed that CPF was highly splitted. The morphology, evaluated by scanning electron microscopy, indicated that plasma treatment increased the surface roughness of poultry feather. XPS test results showed that chemical treatment removed the biological wax layer on the feather surface, and after being treated by plasma, many functional groups containing N and O were introduced on the fiber surface. The results of wettability test showed that plasma treatment could greatly improve the hydrophilicity of feather fiber. The breaking strength and fracture images of the different kind of composite films, including non-fiber composite film, UPF composite film, CPF composite film and CPPF composite film, indicated that matrix could be better combined with highly bifurcated and hydrophilic poultry feather. The outcome obtained from this study is believed to assist the development of environmentally friendly composites from discarded feathers.