Effect of Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Surface Treatment on the Properties of Pineapple Leaf Fiber Reinforced Poly(Lactic Acid) Biocomposites

Abstract

Plant source-based stiff fiber reinforced bioplastics based on natural plant derived substances show promise of providing degradation back into the environment when they are no longer needed. These "green" composites have enormous potential to replace materials originated from non-renewable resources and may turn out to be one of the material revolutions of this century. Unlike synthetic composites, "green" composites are renewable, carbon neutral, biodegradable, non-petroleum based, and have low environmental, human health and safety risks. In this paper effect of pineapple leaf fiber (PALF) length and physical surface treatment on to the properties of the composites was investigated at 10% wt. loading. In order to improve compatibility and composite properties of PALF/poly (lactic acid) composites without any hazardous chemicals that are usually involved in the process, dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma surface treatment was conducted for fiber modification. Therefore more environmentally friendlier and industrially scalable technology was implemented in processing of composites by twin screw extrusion and injection moulding. Resulted composites were characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermal and mechanical testing.

Effect of Radiation Crosslinking and Surface Modification of Cellulose Fibers on Properties and Characterization of Biopolymer Composites

“…In several publications [ 23 , 25 , 26 ] was, after usage plasma surface treatment, evaluated enhancement of surface adhesion of natural fibers with the PLA matrix, which evoke thermal stability, wettability and mechanical properties enhancing. The influence of dielectric barrier plasma discharge (DBD) on the resulting mechanical properties of biocomposite systems based on PLA/PALF has been investigated in our previous work [ 27 ]. A recent study then compared the effect of the content of technical cellulose fibers and their modification by DBD and O 3 on the crystallization of PLA biocomposites [ 28 ].…”