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Effect of surface treatment on the physical and mechanical properties of injection molded poly(lactic acid)‐coir fiber biocomposites
Author(s) -
GonzálezLópez M.E.,
PérezFonseca A.A.,
ManríquezGonzález R.,
Arellano M.,
Rodrigue D.,
RobledoOrtíz J.R.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
polymer composites
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.577
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1548-0569
pISSN - 0272-8397
DOI - 10.1002/pc.24997
Subject(s) - materials science , maleic anhydride , ultimate tensile strength , composite material , flexural strength , coir , absorption of water , lactic acid , extrusion , young's modulus , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , surface modification , izod impact strength test , fiber , flexural modulus , polymer , chemical engineering , copolymer , engineering , biology , bacteria , genetics
In this study, two different surface treatments were evaluated to improve the compatibility of coir fibers with poly(lactic acid). The chemical modifications were achieved by fiber surface treatment with a maleic anhydride grafted to poly(lactic acid) (MAPLA) solution or a poly(methyl vinyl ether‐alt‐maleic anhydride) (MA‐c‐PMVE) aqueous solution. The fibers were analyzed by attenuated total reflectance‐Fourier transform infrared to determine the type and level of surface modification. The biocomposites were compounded via extrusion and molded by injection. Mechanical testing showed increases in tensile modulus (around 16%) and flexural modulus (around 16%) for both treatments, but MA‐c‐PMVE (29%) was more effective than MAPLA (15%) in strength improvement. Finally, the surface treated fibers led to much lower biocomposites water absorption than untreated ones. POLYM. COMPOS., 40:2132–2141, 2019. © 2018 Society of Plastics Engineers