Surface modification of sugarcane bagasse cellulose and its effect on mechanical and water absorption properties of sugarcane bagasse cellulose/ HDPE composites

Cellulose fibres from sugarcane bagasse were bleached and modified by zirconium oxychloride in order to improve the mechanical properties of composites with high density polyethylene (HDPE). The mechanical properties of the composites prepared from chemically modified cellulose fibres were found to...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Mulinari, Daniella Regina [UNESP], Voorwald, Herman J. C. [UNESP], Cioffi, Maria Odila H. [UNESP], Rocha, George J., Da Silva, Maria Lúcia C. Pinto
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2010
Country:Brasil
Institution:Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP)
Repository:Repositório Institucional da UNESP
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.unesp.br:11449/226019
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11449/226019
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Fibre/matrix bond
Injection moulding
Mechanical properties
Polymer-matrix composites (PMCs)
Description
Summary:Cellulose fibres from sugarcane bagasse were bleached and modified by zirconium oxychloride in order to improve the mechanical properties of composites with high density polyethylene (HDPE). The mechanical properties of the composites prepared from chemically modified cellulose fibres were found to increase compared to those of bleached fibres. Tensile strengths of the composites showed a decreasing trend with increasing filler content. However, the values for the chemically modified cellulose fibres/HDPE composites at all mixing ratios were found to be higher than that of neat HDPE. Results of water immersion tests showed that the water absorption affected the mechanical properties. The fracture surfaces of the composites were recorded using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The SEM micrographs revealed that interfacial bonding between the modified filler and the matrix was significantly improved by the fibre modification.