Open Access

ARTICLE

Influence of Fiber Surface Energy on Mechanical Properties of Sisal Fiber - Bio Based Epoxy Composites

S. RAJKUMAR¹, R. JOSEPH BENSINGH¹, M. ABDUL KADER¹, SANJAY K NAYAK¹

1 Advanced Research School for Technology and Product Simulation, Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology (CIPET), Chennai, India 600032.

* Corresponding Author: e-mail:

Journal of Polymer Materials 2018, 35(4), 485-496. https://doi.org/10.32381/JPM.2018.35.04.7

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to correlate the surface energy and mechanical properties of bio-based composites and also to establish the relationship between surface energy and composite performance. The surfaces of sisal fibers are treated by NaOH and isocyanate reagents to improve the surface properties. The surface energy of the untreated and treated fibers were estimated from contact angle measurements by using the theoretical approach. The adsorption between fibers and matrix was also examined. Modified fiber surface showed better adsorption performance as compared to untreated fiber and thus indicated good wetting behaviour of the treated fibers. Fibers with higher surface energy yielded higher tensile strength of composites. A qualitative agreement between the surface energy of the sisal fibers and mechanical strength of treated fibers was observed. Differential Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (DTG) was carried out to study the thermal stability of treated fibers. SEM studies support the results derived from the evaluation of mechanical properties by understanding the fiber/matrix adhesion.

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