Effect of Various Surface Modifications on Characterization of New Natural Cellulosic Fiber from Coconut Tree Secondary Flower Leaf Stalk Fiber (<i>CSF</i>)
T. Ramkumar, Kuppuswamy Hariharan, Mani Selvakumar, Mahalingam Jayaraj
Abstract
In the objective of the study is to improve the mechanical properties and reduce the hydrophilic nature of new novel bio fiber of coconut tree secondary flower leaf stalk (CSF). As per the state of art, raw and various chemical treated CSF studies are not well established and not enough to characterize and sustainability of novel fiber polymer reinforcement material. So CSF was subjected to alkali, silane, permanganate, and benzoylation surface treatments and further investigation was made. After the different chemical treatments the physical, chemical, mechanical, thermal stability (TGA), morphology analysis (MA), crystallinity and crystal size (CA), and functional groups were analyzed. The results revealed that tensile strength (650.54 MPa) and Young’s Modulus value (1.89 GPa) significantly increased due to benzoylation treatment of the CSF. In TGA, compared to other treatments, the benzoylation treated CSF thermal stability, exhibited a maximum holding temperature of 567°C. From the XRD analysis, considerable variations were observed in the crystallinity size and index, due to the new chemical bond formation in the CSF. FTIR analysis confirmed the presence of cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, and wax in CSF. SEM revealed that resulted in a better rough surface, fewer impurities, and exposure of the inner fibrillar structure in CSF.