Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
7
Ef ect of Fiber Length on h ermal and Mechanical
Properties of Polypropylene Nanobiocomposites
Reinforced with Kenaf Fiber and Nanoclay
Na Sim and Seong Ok Han
*
Energy Materials Laboratory, Korea Institute of Energy Research, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon,
Republic of Korea
Abstract
h is study investigates the ef ect of kenaf (KE) i ber length on the thermal and mechanical prop-
erties of polypropylene (PP) nanobiocomposites reinforced with KE and nanoclay. h e nano-
biocomposites of either 40 wt% KE and 5 wt% or 10 wt% nanoclay loadings were manufactured
by melting compounding and compression molding, respectively. h e KEs were prepared as 1
mm or 10 mm for investigating the ef ect of i ber length on the properties of nanobiocompos-
ites. For 10% loading of nanoclay the tensile, l exural modulus and notched impact strength
of PP/KE (10mm)/nanoclay composites showed an increase of 22.0%, 68.75% and 343.55%,
respectively, compared to those of PP/KE(1mm)/nanoclay composites. It can be explained that
the longer i ber in biocomposites gives higher impact, l exural or tensile properties due to bet-
ter adhesion between the PP and KE reinforcements. Also, good dispersion of nanoclay in the
biocomposites can contribute to the synergistic ef ect for increased thermal and mechanical
properties of nanobiocomposites.
Keywords:
Nanobiocomposites, polypropylene, kenaf i ber, nanoclay, i ber length, thermal
properties, mechanical properties, reinforcement
7.1
Introduction
Biocomposites consisting of the polymer matrix and natural i bers are environmen-
tally-friendly material which can replace glass i ber-reinforced polymer composites,
and are currently used in a wide range of i elds such as the automotive and construc-
tion industries, electronic components, sports and leisure, etc. [1, 2]. Recently, the
research on nanobiocomposites which are reinforced with both natural i ber and nano-
i ller is actively proceeding in order to of er higher thermal and mechanical proper-
ties, transport barrier, thermal resistivity and l ame retardance in comparison with the
conventional biocomposites [3-7]. Recently, nanoclay has become of increasing interest
in nanocomposites because the characteristics of nanometer-scaled silicate pellets, such
