Abstract
Polylactide (PLA) is a biodegradable polymer with low elongation which limits its use in some applications. The incorporation of biowaste particles has been employed to improve its properties. This work thus examines the impact of lignin particles reinforced on electrospun PLA fibre mats. Acid hydrolysis (1M of HCl at 60 and 100 oC for 2 and 4 h was used to extract lignin from Cocos nucifera L (CNHL) and Zea Mays Chaff (CCL). Lignin particles were added to molten PLA, stirred, and electrospun at 26 kV, using a static aluminum collector plate placed at 121mm from the spinneret tip. Morphological examination reveals that fibre diameter of neat PLA (9.7 µm) increased from 107 – 285 % with the additions of reinforcements. Maximum tensile strength of 1.03 MPa is recorded for PLA/CNHL 60oC /2 h. This composite maintains the highest elongation of 0.069 % compared to neat PLA (0.046 %). X-Ray diffractometer (XRD) result informs that the crystallinity of neat PLA (67.6 %) improves by 3%, with the use of CNHL 60 oC/ 2 h. Thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) result shows that both fibre composites possess better thermal stability (380 oC) compared to reinforcing PLA fibre (319 oC).
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