Bamboo Fibre-reinforced Self-compatibilizing Functionalized Polypropylene Composites by Palsule Process

Abstract

Bamboo fibre (BMBF) reinforced chemically functionalized polypropylene (CF-PP) composites (BMBF/CF-PP) with in-situ fibre/matrix interfacial adhesion have been processed by Palsule process without using any compatibilizer and without any fibre treatment by co-rotating twin screw extruder and injection moulding machine using raw, untreated bamboo fibres as reinforcement and chemically functionalized polypropylene (i.e., polypropylene grafted with 1.8% maleic anhydride) as the polymer matrix. Mechanical properties of the 10/90, 20/80 and 30/70 BMBF/CF-PP composites have been found to be higher than those of the CF-PP matrix and increase with increasing amounts of reinforcing BMBF in the composites. In-situ fibre/matrix interfacial adhesion resulting in the formation of BMBF/CFPP composites has been established by Field Emission Scanning Electron Micrograph (FE-SEM) and Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) spectroscopy.