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. 2020 Nov 6;12(11):2604.
doi: 10.3390/polym12112604.

Thermal and Structural Analysis of Epoxidized Jatropha Oil and Alkaline Treated Kenaf Fiber Reinforced Poly(Lactic Acid) Biocomposites

Siti Hasnah Kamarudin  1   2 , Luqman Chuah Abdullah  2   3 , Min Min Aung  2   4 , Chantara Thevy Ratnam  5
Affiliations

Thermal and Structural Analysis of Epoxidized Jatropha Oil and Alkaline Treated Kenaf Fiber Reinforced Poly(Lactic Acid) Biocomposites

Siti Hasnah Kamarudin et al. Polymers (Basel). .

Abstract

New environmentally friendly plasticized poly(lactic acid) (PLA) kenaf biocomposites were obtained through a melt blending process from a combination of epoxidized jatropha oil, a type of nonedible vegetable oil material, and renewable plasticizer. The main objective of this study is to investigate the effect of the incorporation of epoxidized jatropha oil (EJO) as a plasticizer and alkaline treatment of kenaf fiber on the thermal properties of PLA/Kenaf/EJO biocomposites. Kenaf fiber was treated with 6% sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution for 4 h. The thermal properties of the biocomposites were analyzed using a differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). It must be highlighted that the addition of EJO resulted in a decrease of glass transition temperature which aided PLA chain mobility in the blend as predicted. TGA demonstrated that the presence of treated kenaf fiber together with EJO in the blends reduced the rate of decomposition of PLA and enhanced the thermal stability of the blend. The treatment showed a rougher surface fiber in scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs and had a greater mechanical locking with matrix, and this was further supported with Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis. Overall, the increasing content of EJO as a plasticizer has improved the thermal properties of PLA/Kenaf/EJO biocomposites.

Keywords: DSC; FTIR; SEM; TGA; alkaline treatment; epoxidized jatropha oil; kenaf; poly(lactic acid).

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra of untreated and treated kenaf fibers.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs of untreated kenaf fibers (UTK) at magnifications of (a) 50× and (b) 200× (c) 500×.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Cross section of untreated kenaf fibers (UTK) at magnification of 1000×.
Figure 4
Figure 4
SEM micrograph of treated kenaf fiber (TK) at magnification of 50×.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Diameter measurement of (a) untreated and (b) treated kenaf fibers.
Figure 6
Figure 6
The weight loss (TG) curves of PLA and PLA/TK/EJO biocomposites for various epoxidized jatropha oil (EJO) loadings.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Derivative percentage weight thermogram (DTG) curves of PLA and PLA/TK/EJO biocomposites for various EJO loadings.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) thermograms of PLA, PLA/TK and PLA/TK/EJO films for various EJO loadings.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Schematic illustration of the proposed mechanism of plasticization effect.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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