Improvement of mechanical properties of natural fiber–polypropylene composites using successive alkaline treatments |
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| Authors: | Maria de Fátima V Marques Renato P Melo Rafael da S Araujo Juliana do N Lunz Vinícius de O Aguiar |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Laboratório de Catálise para Polimeriza??o, Instituto de Macromoléculas Professora Eloisa Mano, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil;2. Centro de Tecnologia, Cidade Universitária, Bloco J, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil;3. PSA Peugeot Citro?n, Centre Technique de Vélizy, Velizy Villacoublay, France |
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| Abstract: | The use of natural fibers (NFs) in polymer composites for structural applications has increased greatly in the last years, owing to their abundance and biodegradability. In this work, an innovative and simple successive alkali treatment has been developed to improve the mechanical properties of NFs/polypropylene (PP) composites. Three different cellulosic fibers (curauá, jute, and flax) were used, with a fixed proportion of 10 wt %. The fibers were immersed several times in a 5 wt % NaOH solution. Thermogravimetric analysis data showed an improvement in thermal properties of the fibers, as well as the increase of the crystallinity degree was measured by X‐ray diffraction. By Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, disappearance of characteristics peaks of hemicelluloses and lignin was observed. Finally, mechanical behavior of the NF/PP composites was examined, using dynamic mechanical analysis. The results revealed that the curauá/PP mechanical properties were significantly improved, showing the positive effect of the successive alkali treatments. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41710. |
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| Keywords: | composites fibers properties and characterization |
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