Husseinsyah Salmah

Chemical Modification of Chitosan-Filled Polypropylene (PP) Composites: The Effect of 3-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane on Mechanical and Thermal Properties

Chitosan was used as filler in polypropylene (PP) polymer. In order to improve compatibility between chitosan and PP, chitosan was chemically modified with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (3-APE). The results show that the increasing of filler content decreased tensile strength and elongation at break, but increased Youngs modulus of composites. The treated composites exhibit higher tensile strength and Youngs modulus, but lower elongation at break compared untreated composites. The addition of 3-APE has improved thermal properties such as thermal stability and crystallinity of treated composites. SEM study of the tensile fracture surface of treated composites shows better interfacial interaction and adhesion between the chitosan-PP matrix.

Surface modification of coconut shell powder filled polylactic acid biocomposites

The acrylic acid was used as chemical modifier to improve the properties of coconut shell powder (CSP) filled polylactic acid (PLA) biocomposites. The effects of filler content and acrylic acid on tensile properties, thermal properties, and morphology of PLA/CSP biocomposites were investigated. It was found that the addition of CSP to PLA biocomposites have decreased the tensile strength and elongation at break, however the modulus of elasticity increased. The treated PLA/CSP biocomposites with acrylic acid have higher tensile strength and modulus of elasticity but lower elongation at break. Surface treatment using acrylic acid has enhanced filler–matrix interaction. The thermal stability of biocomposites increased with increasing CSP content. The treated biocomposites has better thermal stability than untreated biocomposites. The dispersion and interfacial adhesion between the CSP and PLA polymer were important factor to improve the thermal stability of treated biocomposites. The better interfacial interaction between CSP and PLA matrix was confirmed through scanning electron microscope study.

The Effect of Filler Loading and Maleated Polypropylene on Properties of Rubberwood Filled Polypropylene/Natural Rubber Composites:

Polypropylene (PP)/natural rubber (NR) composites were prepared by incorporating rubberwood at different loadings into PP/NR matrix using a Brabender plasticorder at a temperature of 180°C and a rotor speed of 50 rpm for 10 minutes. A compatibilizer, E-43 (maleated polypropylene) was used to improve the mechanical properties of the composites. Incorporation of rubberwood into PP/NR matrix increases the Young modulus, flexural modulus and water absorption but reduces the tensile strength and elongation at break. However, the presence of E-43 in the blends has improved the above properties except elongation at break and water absorption. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies indicate that the presence of E-43 has also improved filler matrix interaction.

Properties of Chitosan-Filled Polypropylene (PP) Composites: The Effect of Acetic Acid

The main objective of this research was to investigate the effect of chitosan content and chemical modification with acetic acid on mechanical and thermal properties of PP/Chitosan. It was found that the tensile strength, elongation at break and crystallinity of untreated PP/Chitosan composites decreased with increasing filler content; however, Youngs modulus and thermal stability increased. The treated chitosan with acetic acid have improved the tensile strength and Youngs modulus of PP/Chitosan composites. The thermal analysis results show that chemical modified chitosan had increase thermal stability and crystallinity of treated PP/Chitosan composites. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) study of the tensile fracture surface of treated PP/Chitosan composites indicated that the presence of acetic acid increased the interfacial interaction between chitosan and polypropylene matrix.

Corn cob filled chitosan biocomposite films

Recently, there has been renews interest in chitosan as materials in producing of biocomposite films. The chitosan (CS)/corn cob (CC) biocomposite films were prepared by solvent casting method. The effect of CC content on tensile properties of CS/CC biocomposite films was studied. The tensile strength and elongation at break of CS/CC biocomposite films decreased as increasing of CC content. However, the increasing of CC content was increased the tensile modulus of CS/CC biocomposite films. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was indicated that the deceasing of tensile properties was due to the poor interfacial adhesion between CC filler and CS matrix.

Melt Rheological Behavior and Thermal Properties of Low-Density Polyethylene/Palm Kernel Shell Composites: Effect of Polyethylene Acrylic Acid

The melt flow behavior and thermal properties of low-density polyethylene (LDPE)/palm kernel shell (PKS) composites were studied. Polyethylene acrylic acid (PEAA) was used as a compatibilizer in the composites. The results showed that the increasing of PKS loading had decreased MFI values of LDPE/PKS composites. The presence of PEAA increased the MFI values of the LDPE/PKS composites. The apparent viscosity of the composites was found to exhibit a linear relationship with the reciprocal of the temperature. Thermal properties showed that higher filler loading tended to reduce the onset temperature as the PKS possessed lower degradation temperature compared to the LDPE. The presence of the PKS in the LDPE polymeric matrix improved the thermal stability of the composites. The addition of PEAA into the composites provided better interfacial bonding between the LDPE matrix and PKS filler, while higher onset temperature and lower total weight loss were observed of LDPE/PKS composites. The activation energy of the LDPE/PKS composites was increased with increasing filler loading. At similar filler loading, the presence of PEAA increased the activation energy of the LDPE/PKS composites.

Rheological and thermal properties of palm kernel shell–filled low-density polyethylene composites with acrylic acid:

The melt flow behaviours of low-density polyethylene (LDPE)/palm kernel shell (PKS) composites were studied. Acrylic acid (AA) was used as a chemical modifier for PKS. The effect of filler loading and the presence of AA in melt flow behaviour of composites were determined. The melt flow index of the composites decreased with the increase in the filler loading. The apparent viscosity of the composites was found to exhibit linear relationship with reciprocal of the temperature. The study on the thermal properties showed that higher filler loading tend to reduce the onset temperature as the PKS possessed lower degradation temperature compared to the LDPE. The presence of the filler in LDPE polymeric matrix improved the thermal stability of the composites. The addition of AA provided better interfacial bonding between the LDPE matrix and the PKS filler, where higher onset temperature and lower weight loss were observed for LDPE/PKS composites with AA. The activation energy of the LDPE/PKS composites was increased with increasing filler loading. At similar filler loading, the addition of AA increased the activation energy of the LDPE/PKS composites.

Rheological and Thermal Study of Chitosan Filled Thermoplastic Elastomer Composites

The chitosan filled thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) composites with different filler loading was prepared by melt mixing at 180 °C. The effect of 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (3-APE) as coupling agent on the rheological and thermal properties of composites were investigated. The melt flow indexer was used to characterize the melt flow index (MFI) of TPE/Chitosan composites at temperature of 180 to 210 °C. It was found that addition of chitosan into composites had reduced the MFI values. Besides that, the MFI values of composites were found to increase linearly with temperature. The treated composites demonstrated lower MFI values, indicated that better interfacial bonding was established between chitosan and TPE and the flowability of the composite melts was hindered. The TGA results reported that the treated composites had better thermal stability and lower total weight loss as compared to untreated composites at similar filler loading.

Properties of recycled high density polyethylene/recycled polypropylene blends : Effect of maleic anhydride polypropylene

Polymer blending provides an efficient way to develop new materials with improved properties while preserve the primary properties of the materials at lower cost. The blends recycled high density polyethylene (rHDPE) and recycled polypropylene (rPP) with and without maleic anhydride polypropylene (MAPP) have been investigated. The effect of different blend ratios on tensile properties, morphology and melt flow index were studied. The tensile strength and modulus of elasticity of both blends increased with increased of rPP in the blend ratios but the elongation at break decreased. It was found that the tensile strength and modulus of elasticity of compatibilized rHDPE/rPP blends higher than uncompatibilized blends. The SEM micrograph of tensile fractured surface of compatibilized blends showed better interfacial adhesion and interaction between rHDPE and rPP. The melt flow index of compatibilized blends showed better flowablity than uncompatibilized blends.

Properties of All-Cellulose Composite Films from Coconut Shell Powder and Microcrystalline Cellulose

All-cellulose composite using coconut shell powders (CSP) as natural lignocellulosic material and microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) were prepared by a surface selective dissolution. The effect of CSP content on tensile properties and crystallinity of CSP/MCC all-cellulose composites were investigated. It was found that the addition of CSP have increased the tensile strength and modulus of elasticity up to 3 wt% and decreased with further increment of CSP content. The elongation at break decreased with CSP content. The crystallinity of cellulose composites increased with the increasing of CSP content.