A Study of Fabrication Technique, Structural and Morphological Behavior of Polypropylene Reinforced with Short Natural Fiber Banana

Abstract

With regard to the environmental aspect it would be very interesting if natural fibers like banana, jute, and coir could be used instead of artificial fibers and synthetic products as reinforcement in some applications. Banana .Natural fibers have many advantages compared to other man made fibers. The natural fiber composites may be used in everyday applications such as lampshades, suitcases, paperweight, helmets, shower and bath units. Polypropylene composites were fabricated with untreated and alkali treated jute fiber with 10-25% loading of fiber by weight and were designated at Polypropylene Banana Composite (PPBC). The composites of biodegradable Polypropylene (PP) reinforced with short jute natural fiber was prepared by melt mixing followed by hot press molding. The micro structural analysis and morphologies of the composites were studied via infrared spectroscopy (IR) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques respectively. The extensive application of infrared spectroscopy is mainly due to the concept of group vibration. Any structural change like substitution or addition of groups or atoms in a molecule affects the relative mode of vibration of the group. This causes change in IR spectral band position, change in relative intensities and appearance of new bands and disappearance of any band and splitting of a single band into two or more bands. Infrared spectroscopy can also be used to increase the utility of fiber. It deals with the interaction of infrared light with matter. The former can indicate the presence of functional groups qualitatively and the latter can provide a semi quantitative measure of their concentrations. Electron Microscopy is most widely used to obtain information regarding the morphology of fiber surfaces, especially SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy). Using SEM, it is easy to determine the differences of fiber surface topography after and before treatment, and hence the formation of fiber polymer composites. Fiber deboning was also observed for untreated and treated fiber pp matrix composite. It reveals that bonding between the fiber and the matrix at the interface may be improved. These indicate that there are some kinds of interfacial contact between fiber and pp matrix due to fiber treatment. The SEM can have a magnification range from a few times to several hundred thousand times.