Journal of Applied Polymer Science
Journal of Applied Polymer Science
4 years ago

Mechanical, thermal, and water absorption properties of melamine–formaldehyde-treated sisal fiber containing polylactic acid composites

Mechanical, thermal, and water absorption properties of melamine–formaldehyde-treated sisal fiber containing polylactic acid composites
Udom Asawapirom, Suchart Siengchin, Jiratti Tengsuthiwat, József Karger-Kocsis
The present study focuses on the melamine–formaldehyde (MF) coating ratio and silanization of PLA/sisal composites. Polylactic acid (PLA) was melt blended with short sisal fiber with and without MF resin coating. MF was applied at different weight ratios (sisal:MF = 1:1; 1:3, and 1:5) to coat the untreated or silanized sisal fibers which were incorporated up to 20 parts per hundred resin (phr) amount in PLA. PLA/sisal composites were produced by compression molding. It was found that the sisal:MF coating ratio at 1:1 by weight improved the tensile strength and tensile modulus of the composite with 10 phr sisal by 4% and 57%, respectively, compared to the virgin PLA. The initial and final decomposition (Ti) and (Tf) of PLA with untreated sisal were changed from 330.8 °C and 367.1 to 336.2 °C and 370.4 °C, respectively, after MF-coating (sisal:MF weight ratio = 1:1). This enhancement in thermal stability was attributed to the strong interaction between the MF and sisal fiber. The water absorption of PLA/MF–sisal composites slightly decreased with increasing sisal:MF ratio. This is due to the fact that the MF-coating substantially reduced the hydrophilic properties of sisal. Moreover, FTIR spectra and SEM images proved that sisal fibers were coated by MF resin successfully. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017, 134, 45681.

Publisher URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/resolve/doi

DOI: 10.1002/app.45681

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