Polylactic acid (PLA) biocomposites reinforced with coir fibres: Evaluation of mechanical performance and multifunctional properties

The effects of fibre content (5-30 wt%) and fibre treatment on surface morphology, tensile, flexural, thermal and biodegradable properties of polylactic acid (PLA)/coir fibre biocomposites were evaluated via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), mechanical testing, differential scanning calorimetry (D...

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Main Authors: Dong, Yu, Ghataura, Arvinder, Takagi, H., Haroosh, Hazim Jasim Mohammed, Nakagaito, A., Lau, K.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Pergamon 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/29247
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author Dong, Yu
Ghataura, Arvinder
Takagi, H.
Haroosh, Hazim Jasim Mohammed
Nakagaito, A.
Lau, K.
author_facet Dong, Yu
Ghataura, Arvinder
Takagi, H.
Haroosh, Hazim Jasim Mohammed
Nakagaito, A.
Lau, K.
author_sort Dong, Yu
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The effects of fibre content (5-30 wt%) and fibre treatment on surface morphology, tensile, flexural, thermal and biodegradable properties of polylactic acid (PLA)/coir fibre biocomposites were evaluated via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), mechanical testing, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and soil burial method. Similar decreasing trends were found for tensile and flexural strengths with higher strength values obtained for PLA/treated coir fibre biocomposites. 20 wt% treated coir fibres were determined to achieve optimum tensile and flexural strengths of biocomposites. Regardless of fibre treatment, the thermal stability of biocomposites is worsened with increasing the fibre content. The decreased cold crystallisation temperatures of biocomposites further confirms the effective nucleating agent role of coir fibres. The biocomposites undergo much faster degradation than PLA, with the maximum weight loss of 34.9% in treated fibre biocomposites relative to 18% in PLA after 18-day burial, arising from the hydrophilic nature of coir fibres.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T08:13:37Z
publishDate 2014
publisher Pergamon
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-292472019-02-19T04:28:16Z Polylactic acid (PLA) biocomposites reinforced with coir fibres: Evaluation of mechanical performance and multifunctional properties Dong, Yu Ghataura, Arvinder Takagi, H. Haroosh, Hazim Jasim Mohammed Nakagaito, A. Lau, K. B. Mechanical properties A. Fibres A. Polymer-matrix composites (PMCs) B. Thermal properties The effects of fibre content (5-30 wt%) and fibre treatment on surface morphology, tensile, flexural, thermal and biodegradable properties of polylactic acid (PLA)/coir fibre biocomposites were evaluated via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), mechanical testing, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and soil burial method. Similar decreasing trends were found for tensile and flexural strengths with higher strength values obtained for PLA/treated coir fibre biocomposites. 20 wt% treated coir fibres were determined to achieve optimum tensile and flexural strengths of biocomposites. Regardless of fibre treatment, the thermal stability of biocomposites is worsened with increasing the fibre content. The decreased cold crystallisation temperatures of biocomposites further confirms the effective nucleating agent role of coir fibres. The biocomposites undergo much faster degradation than PLA, with the maximum weight loss of 34.9% in treated fibre biocomposites relative to 18% in PLA after 18-day burial, arising from the hydrophilic nature of coir fibres. 2014 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/29247 10.1016/j.compositesa.2014.04.003 Pergamon fulltext
spellingShingle B. Mechanical properties
A. Fibres
A. Polymer-matrix composites (PMCs)
B. Thermal properties
Dong, Yu
Ghataura, Arvinder
Takagi, H.
Haroosh, Hazim Jasim Mohammed
Nakagaito, A.
Lau, K.
Polylactic acid (PLA) biocomposites reinforced with coir fibres: Evaluation of mechanical performance and multifunctional properties
title Polylactic acid (PLA) biocomposites reinforced with coir fibres: Evaluation of mechanical performance and multifunctional properties
title_full Polylactic acid (PLA) biocomposites reinforced with coir fibres: Evaluation of mechanical performance and multifunctional properties
title_fullStr Polylactic acid (PLA) biocomposites reinforced with coir fibres: Evaluation of mechanical performance and multifunctional properties
title_full_unstemmed Polylactic acid (PLA) biocomposites reinforced with coir fibres: Evaluation of mechanical performance and multifunctional properties
title_short Polylactic acid (PLA) biocomposites reinforced with coir fibres: Evaluation of mechanical performance and multifunctional properties
title_sort polylactic acid (pla) biocomposites reinforced with coir fibres: evaluation of mechanical performance and multifunctional properties
topic B. Mechanical properties
A. Fibres
A. Polymer-matrix composites (PMCs)
B. Thermal properties
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/29247