The Influence of Chemical Surface Modification on the Performance of Sisal-Polyester Biocomposites

摘要

The article concerns the effectiveness of various types and degrees of surface modification of sisal fibers involving dewaxing, alkali treatment, bleaching, cyano-ethylation and vinyl grafting in enhancing the mechanical properties, such as tensile, flexural and impact strength, of sisal-polyester biocomposites. The mechanical properties are optimum at a fiber loading of 30 wt%. Among all modifications, cyanoethylationand alkali treatment result in improved properties of the biocomposites. Cyanoethylated sisal-polyester composite exhibited maximum tensile strength (84.29 MPa). The alkali treated sisal-polyester composite exhibited best flexural (153.94 MPa) and impact strength (197.88 J/m), which are, respectively, 21.8% and 20.9% higher than the corresponding mechaical properties of the untreated sisal-polyester composite. In the case of vinyl grafting, acrylonitrile (AN)-grafted sisal-polyester composites show better mechanical properties than methyl-methacrylate (MMA)-grafted sisal composites. Scanning electron microscopic studies were carried out to analyze the fiber-matrix interaction in various surface-modified sisal-polyester composites.