On the crystallinity of PVA/palm leaf biocomposite using DSC and XRD techniques

Abstract

Biocomposites of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and palm leaf powder were prepared using solution casting method. The effect of addition of palm leaf into PVA matrix on thermal behaviour was studied by differential scanning calorimetry and on crystalline properties using X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. On the basis of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) thermograms, the glass transition temperature, melting temperature, melting enthalpy of fusion and crystallinity were determined. It is found that the glass transition temperature initially decreases; however, it increases with further increase in amount of palm leaf powder in the biocomposite. The melting enthalpy of fusion and crystallinity is found to increase for samples with palm leaf up to 15 wt%. The crystallinity is observed to be 37.29 % for biocomposite with 15 wt% of palm leaf as compared to 27.45 % for pure PVA. On the basis of XRD studies, decrease in the interplanar distance and crystallite size is observed while the order of crystallinity is found to increase in similar manner as observed in DSC thermograms. Thus, the addition of palm leaf powder in the poly vinyl alcohol can be developed as a biocomposite with increased thermal stability and crystalline properties.