Biocomposites from poly (butylene succinate-co-butylene adipate) biodegradable plastic and hop natural fiber: Studies on the effect of compatibilizer on performance of the composites
Arturo Rodriguez‐Uribe, Nicole Harder, Manjusri Misra, Amar K. Mohanty
Abstract
The overall performance of natural fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites is mostly correlated to the fiber-plastic adhesion. Herein, the interfacial adhesion of hop natural fiber (Humulus lupulus) and poly (butylene succinate-co-butylene adipate) (PBSA) bioplastic coupled with an in situ synthesized maleic anhydride grafted PBSA compatibilizer (MA-g-PBSA) was investigated. The fiber was produced by attrition-milling while forced through a mesh of 1 mm and used at 30 weight percent (wt.%) ratio. The developed fiber-matrix adhesion of the coupled biocomposites was confirmed by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and supported by mechanical tests. With the use of 5wt.% MA-g-PBSA the tensile strength of the biocomposites was comparable to the neat PBSA. But overall, the tensile, flexural, and impact strengths of compatibilized biocomposites improved respectively 45, 16, and 19% when compared to those uncompatiblized biocomposites. The flexural modulus and the heat deflection temperature were affected by the fiber loading and barely by the coupling agent.