Abstract
Windmill palm fibers are an abundant lignin-cellulose fiber resource. Single palm fibers can be prepared using an alkali treatment method. However, these fibers have hydrophilic surfaces, and following drying the fibers exhibit serious aggregation. This limits their application as acoustic materials. In this work, both alkali and acetylation treatments were used to modify the characteristics of windmill palm fibers. These treatments caused the surface of the fibers to become hydrophobic and increased the specific area and free vacuum space of the fibers, thus lowering energy loss. Scanning electron microscope observations combined with Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy showed that the acetylation treatment resulted in the substitution of hydroxyl groups with acetyl groups, and the formation of nanoscale pores (10~50 nm). The results of the moisture-absorption and contact-angle tests showed that the moisture regain value decreased to 3.86%, and the contact angle increased to above 140° after acetylation treatment. The average sound absorption coefficients of the alkalized and acetylated nonwoven fabrics were 0.31 and 0.36, respectively. The masses of the acetylated samples were 50% those of the windmill palm sheath samples.
Highlights
With growing global environmental awareness, there has been increased focus on the development of environmentally friendly bio-resources[1,2,3,4]
In this study, alkalized and acetylated single windmill-palm fibers were prepared and their microstructure, hydrophobic properties, and acoustic properties were investigated. Such acetylation treatments are considered to be a novel method for the preparation of lightweight, nonwoven fabrics with good acoustic performances
At the start of the treatment, the contact angle increases with the acetyl chloride concentration, pyridine concentration, temperature, and time, respectively
Summary
With growing global environmental awareness, there has been increased focus on the development of environmentally friendly bio-resources[1,2,3,4]. A lumen exists in the center of these windmill-palm fibers; this hollow structure can increase the friction that exists between sound waves and the fibers These windmill-palm fibers could potentially be applied to prepare nonwoven fabrics with good acoustic properties[8]. The acetylation treatment process is attractive and simple, and is widely applied to modify the hydroxyl (OH) groups on the cellulose surface[10,11] The key to this method is to replace the OH groups of the fiber with acetyl (CH3CO) groups. In this study, alkalized and acetylated single windmill-palm fibers were prepared and their microstructure, hydrophobic properties, and acoustic properties were investigated Such acetylation treatments are considered to be a novel method for the preparation of lightweight, nonwoven fabrics with good acoustic performances
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