Abstract
The paper reports some experimental results on the effect of different chemical modifications of Diss fibers on the properties of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) biocomposites involving alkaline, combined alkaline/peroxide and combined alkaline/silane treatments. The biocomposite samples loaded at 20 wt% were prepared by melt compounding. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) showed a better fiber-matrix interaction between Diss fiber and matrix after surface fiber treatment. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) results indicated an increase in crystallinity index of the biocomposites. In addition, the incorporation of Diss fibers treated with alkali-silane resulted in an improvement in Heat Deflection Temperature (HDT) and shore D hardness from 141.1 °C and 75.1–145.7°C and 86.2, respectively, in comparison with the neat matrix. This also agreed with the flexural properties results, which showed a significant increase in flexural modulus by almost 30 % compared to the neat PHBV. The same trend was observed for water absorption. Overall, combined alkali-silane treatment was found to be most efficient surface treatment method to develop strong interfacial adhesion between PHBV and Diss fiber, increasing the scope of application in manufacturing of light weight green composites.
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