Study of Alkalization to the Crystallinity and the Thermal Behavior of Arenga Pinnata “Ijuk” Fibers-Based Polylactic Acid (PLA) Biocomposite

Abstract

The pollution due to non-degradable material such as plastics, has led to studies about the development of environmental-friendly materials. Because of natural sources-based materials and their biodegradability, polylactid acid (PLA) and ijuk fiber are interesting to be modified into a composite. Furthermore this study is also expected to reduce the impact of environmental problems. Surface modification of ijuk fiber through alkalinization, was aimed to enhance compatibility between the ijuk fiber and the PLA, in order to improve properties of the composite such as crytallinity and thermal behavior. To investigate in detail about this modification, this research also studied effect of the alkalinized ijuk fiber and the PLA composition to the crystallinity and the thermal behavior of the composites. The experimental results were investigated by FTIR to qualitatively analyze compounds content in the ijuk fiber before and after alkalinization, DSC and TGA to study crystallinity and thermal stability behavior of the composite, respectively and FE-SEM to observe morphological behavior like compatibility between the ijuk fiber and the PLA. The FE-SEM observation showed that alkalinization of the ijuk fiber led to wettability enhancement between the ijuk fiber and the PLA. This may be caused by annihilating lignin and hemicellulose. Furthermore this treatment leads to expose micro-fibril cellulose (MFC) in the ijuk fiber and then to enhancement of bonding affinity with the PLA. This phenomenon gives a possibility for the PLA in the composite to increase its crystallinity due to nucleating effect of crystalline parts in the MFC. DSC measurements show that addition of the alkalinized ijuk fiber tends to increase the crystallinity of PLA in the composites.Keywords: alkalization, Arenga Pinnata, compatibility, crystallinity, PLA, thermal stability

Preparation of Micro Fibrillated Cellulose Based on Arenga Pinnata “Ijuk” Fibre for Nucleating Agent of Polypropylene: Characterization, Optimization and Feasibility Study

“…[5] On the other hand, Luduena et al studied the influence of lignocellulosic filler to the crystallization behaviour of polycaprolactane. [6] Furthermore, study of crystallization behaviour of "ijuk" fibre based polylactic acid biocomposite has been done by Chalid et al [7] It is indicated that natural fibres can act as heterogenous nucleating agents which change the morphology and crystallinity of the interface region. [6] Moreover, through this research, "ijuk" fibre is able to be a novel approach for pp nucleating agent as well as existing pp nucleating agent such as sorbitol derivated and modified CaCO 3 .…”

Preparation and Characterization for Sorgum‐Based Micro‐Fibrillated Celluloses

“…This target has been driven by finding applications of MFC in material engineering. The inherent stiffness and high degree of crystallinity make it ideally suited for reinforcing and load bearing application in composite …”

“…It takes only 3‐5 months for the sweet sorghum to mature and the species can be planted in very dry area . Sorghum is one of important renewable natural resource that has not been well investigated yet . Previous researches reported that natural fiber like flax, hemp, jute, and sisal have been well confirmed as good potential reinforcement for composite .…”

“…Among all techniques for MFC preparation, chemical techniques such as alkalinization, bleaching and acid hydrolysis, are well‐known as simple and cheap. Alkalinization can soak the fiber and remove a certain amount of lignin, wax and oils covering surface of the fiber's cell wall . Bleaching process using sodium hypochlorite solution has the similar effect as alkalinization, in more powerful way to reduce the hemicellulose content.…”

“…The inherent stiffness and high degree of crystallinity make it ideally suited for reinforcing and load bearing application in composite. [1][2][3][4] Sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is a plant with a high level of photosynthesis. It takes only 3-5 months for the sweet sorghum to mature and the species can be planted in very dry area.…”