Mercerization effect on the properties of LDPE/PHB composites reinforced with castor cake

• Autor(a) principal: Rocha,Marisa Cristina Guimarães
• Data de Publicação: 2020
• Outros Autores: Acevedo,Nancy Isabel Alvarez de, Oliveira,Carlos Ivan Ribeiro de, Sanches,Maira Cunha, Coelho,Natália Nogueira
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Polímeros (São Carlos. Online)
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0104-14282020000400402
• topic: mercerization; castor oil cake; composites; fiber characterization; mechanical properties

Abstract The aim of this work was to investigate the effects of mercerization on the structure of castor oil cake (CC) and on the tensile properties of LDPE/PHB/CC composites. To achieve this goal, the fibers were treated with NaOH solutions (5 and 10 wt%). Characterization techniques such as: scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to investigate the structure of modified fibers. The composites were processed in a Haake mixer. Tensile tests of the composites were performed according to ASTM D638 standard. The analyzes revealed that mercerization promoted a partial conversion of cellulose I into cellulose II. Mercerization performed with 5% NaOH solution improved the tensile properties of the LDPE/PHB/CC composites, which were superior to those obtained with the 10% NaOH solution. This result suggests that the higher concentration of NaOH compromises the integrity of the fibers, deteriorating the mechanical properties.