Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
Molecules. 2012 Feb 16;17(2):1969-91. doi: 10.3390/molecules17021969.
In this work, the oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) fiber was used as a source of lignocellulosic filler to fabricate a novel type of cost effective biodegradable composite, based on the aliphatic aromatic co-polyester poly(butylene adipate-co-terephtalate) PBAT (Ecoflex™), as a fully biodegradable thermoplastic polymer matrix. The aim of this research was to improve the new biocomposites' performance by chemical modification using succinic anhydride (SAH) as a coupling agent in the presence and absence of dicumyl peroxide (DCP) and benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as initiators. For the composite preparation, several blends were prepared with varying ratios of filler and matrix using the melt blending technique. The composites were prepared at various fiber contents of 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 (wt %) and characterized. The effects of fiber loading and coupling agent loading on the thermal properties of biodegradable polymer composites were evaluated using thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used for morphological studies. The chemical structure of the new biocomposites was also analyzed using the Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy technique. The PBAT biocomposite reinforced with 40 (wt %) of EFB fiber showed the best mechanical properties compared to the other PBAT/EFB fiber biocomposites. Biocomposite treatment with 4 (wt %) succinic anhydride (SAH) and 1 (wt %) dicumyl peroxide (DCP) improved both tensile and flexural strength as well as tensile and flexural modulus. The FTIR analyses proved the mechanical test results by presenting the evidence of successful esterification using SAH/DCP in the biocomposites' spectra. The SEM micrograph of the tensile fractured surfaces showed the improvement of fiber-matrix adhesion after using SAH. The TGA results showed that chemical modification using SAH/DCP improved the thermal stability of the PBAT/EFB biocomposite.
在这项工作中，油棕空果串（EFB）纤维被用作木质纤维素填料的来源，基于脂肪族芳香共聚酯聚丁二酸丁二醇酯-对苯二甲酸酯（PBAT）（Ecoflex™），作为一种完全可生物降解的热塑性聚合物基体，制备了一种新型的具有成本效益的可生物降解复合材料。本研究的目的是通过使用琥珀酸酐（SAH）作为偶联剂，在存在和不存在过氧化二异丙苯（DCP）和过氧化苯甲酰（BPO）作为引发剂的情况下，对新型生物复合材料进行化学改性，从而提高其性能。为了制备复合材料，使用熔融共混技术，用不同比例的填充剂和基体制备了几种混合物。将复合材料的纤维含量分别制备为 10、20、30、40 和 50（wt%），并对其进行了表征。使用热重分析（TGA）评估纤维负载和偶联剂负载对可生物降解聚合物复合材料热性能的影响。使用扫描电子显微镜（SEM）进行形态学研究。还使用傅里叶变换红外（FTIR）光谱技术分析了新生物复合材料的化学结构。与其他 PBAT/EFB 纤维生物复合材料相比，添加 40（wt%）EFB 纤维的 PBAT 生物复合材料表现出最佳的力学性能。用 4（wt%）琥珀酸酐（SAH）和 1（wt%）过氧化二异丙苯（DCP）处理生物复合材料，提高了拉伸和弯曲强度以及拉伸和弯曲模量。FTIR 分析通过在生物复合材料的光谱中呈现使用 SAH/DCP 成功酯化的证据，证明了力学测试结果。拉伸断裂表面的 SEM 显微照片显示，在使用 SAH 后，纤维-基体的附着力得到了提高。TGA 结果表明，使用 SAH/DCP 进行化学改性提高了 PBAT/EFB 生物复合材料的热稳定性。
