| Composites of palm fiber and polypropylene were compounded using a mixing device at various temperatures, mixing times, and mixing intensities. The composites were subsequently injection molded into standard tensile specimens for mechanical characterization. The composites formed were then characterized using Mechanical Testing Machine, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Differential Scanning Calorimetry and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. It was observed that composite modulus increases with the increase of fiber content indicating the existence of adhesion between polypropylene and the much stiffer palm fiber. However, the adhesion is not satisfactory and resulted in decrease in the composite tensile strength with fiber addition.; Two compatibilizers Epolene E-43 and Epolene G-3003 were used to minimize this incompatibility between the wood fibers and the polypropylene matrix. The additives enhanced the fiber-matrix adhesion resulting in an improvement in composite performance. Also, small fibers showed better mechanical properties compared to long fibers. Morphological characterization revealed that adding the compatibilizer gave a smooth fracture surface, due to decrease in fiber pull out which points towards chemical reaction between fiber and the compatibilizers. Diffrential scanning calorimetry showed that no significant increase in crystallinity with the addition of fiber. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy did not conclusively show the creation of new functional groups between fiber and compatibilizer, which would have been created due to chemical reaction. |
