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Effect of neutron irradiation on the structural, mechanical, and thermal properties of jute fiber
Author(s) -
Sinha E.,
Rout S. K.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.28504
Subject(s) - materials science , irradiation , composite material , fiber , scanning electron microscope , crystallite , thermal stability , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , small angle x ray scattering , scattering , chemical engineering , optics , nuclear physics , engineering , metallurgy , physics
Abstract This article describes the effect of neutron irradiation on jute fiber ( Corchorus olitorius ). The jute fibers (4.0 tex) were irradiated by fast neutrons with an energy of 4.44 MeV at different fluences ranging from 2 × 10 9 to 2 × 10 13 n/cm 2 . An important aspect of neutron irradiation is that the fast neutrons can produce dense ionization at deep levels in the materials. Structural analysis of the raw and irradiated fibers were studied by small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Thermal analysis carried out on the raw and irradiated fibers showed that the thermal stability of the fibers decreased after irradiation. The mechanical properties of the jute fibers were found to decrease after irradiation. The SAXS study showed that the average periodicity transverse to the layer decreased after irradiation, which may have been due to the shrinkage of cellulosic particles constituting the fiber. The residual compressive stress developed in the fiber after irradiation resulted in a decrease in crystallite size as supported by our XRD analysis. Observation with SEM did not indicate any change produced in the surface morphology of the fiber due to irradiation. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008