Mechanical, water absorption and weathering properties of poly(butylene succinate)/kenaf bast fibre composites: Effect of maleated compatibiliser

摘要

Kenaf bast fibre filled poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) composites were made with adding 65 wt. % PBS, 30 wt. % KBF and 5 wt. % of maleated PBS with concentrations of MA 3, 5, 7 and 10 phr. In this study, mechanical properties of the composites were determined by 3 point bending test. The results show the addition of maleated PBS significantly enhanced the flexural strength and modulus of the composites. The optimum increment has been shown by composite with addition of compatibiliser 5 phr MA. As expected, water absorption of the composites was found to follow the Fickian behavior. The equilibrium water absorption, M_m of compatibilised composites was higher than the uncompatibilised and the values were also noticed to be depending on the concentration of MA in the compatibilisers. The deterioration of composites dimensional stability were also observed at the end of 90 days immersion. For weathering test, the composites were assessed to colour change analysis, FTIR analysis and SEM examination. In general, the total colour change, ΔE_(ab), of all composites increased with weathering time and FTIR analysis confirmed the presence of oxidation products i.e., hydroxyl, carbonyl and vinyl species in the weathered composites and the intensity were higher for compatibilised ones due to the increased number of active sites originated from the functional groups of the compatibiliser itself.