Preparation of Poly(Styrene) Grafted Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch Fiber and Its Application as a Filler for High Impact Poly(Styrene) Composites
Polystyrene (PS) was grafted onto oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) fiber in aqueous medium using ~202/Fe~in+it iator system. The grafting percentage was found to be dependent on the reaction period and temperature, amounts of the monomer, the initiator and the cocatalyst. The maximum percentage...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
2005
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/6277/1/FS_2005_47.pdf |
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| Summary: | Polystyrene (PS) was grafted onto oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) fiber in aqueous
medium using ~202/Fe~in+it iator system. The grafting percentage was found to be
dependent on the reaction period and temperature, amounts of the monomer, the
initiator and the cocatalyst. The maximum percentage of grafting (of about 200%) was
achieved when the reaction was carried out under the following conditions: reaction
period; 4 hours, reaction temperature; 65OC, amounts of monomer; 52.27 mmol,
amounts of initiator; 6.00 mmol and amounts of cocatalyst; 0.26 mmol. The reaction
mechanism for the grafting of styrene onto OPEFB fiber was proposed and proof of
grafting was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier-transform
infrared (FT-IR) analysis. The presence of a peak around 3026 cm-' and two peaks
between 698 and 755 cm-'in the FTIR of the product provides strong evidence on the
presence of poly(styrene) in the product. The effects of grafting on the thermal properties were studied by thermogravimetry analysis (TGA). Preparation of composite
samples were carried out by melt blending in Haake plasticorder with rotor speed of 40
rpm at 1 70°C for 10 minutes, and then followed by hot pressing moulding. The tensile
properties of high impact polystyrene &IPS) reinforced with OPEFB, OPEFB-g-PS
and crude OPEFB-g-PS fiber were studied. By using OPEFB-g-PS and crude OPEFBg-
PS as the filler, it was found that the tensile property of the resulting composites was
enhanced. The tensile strength of OPEFB-g-PS and crude OPEFB-g-PSIHIPS
composites shows marginal increase up to 20% of filler content but decreases with
further increase of the filler content. The incorporation of OPEFB fiber considerably
improves the young modulus of the composite but is more significant when using
OPEFB-g-PS and crude OPEFB-g-PS as the filler in HIPS composite. The elongation
at break decreases with the increase of the filler content. The SEM micrograph shows
that the interfacial adhesion between the OPEFB-g-PS and crude OPEFB-g-PS fibers
with HIPS matrix are considerably improved compared to that of OPEFB fiber-HIPS
composites. The water absorption of the composites increases as the filler loading is
increased. However, by grafting poly(styrene) onto OPEFB fiber, the hygroscopicity of
the composites can be reduced. The thermal stability of OPEFB-g-PSIHIPS and crude
OPEFB-g-PSIHIPS composites are improved. Fourier transform infi-ared (FTIR)
spectroscopy shows that the hydroxyl group absorption shift to lower wave numbers
which indicates that the hydrogen bonding is formed. The study of the effect of adding
various amount of the OPEFB-g-PS fiber into OPEFBIHIPS (20:80) composites was
also carried out. Incorporation of the OPEFB-g-PS in these composites also improves
the tensile strength and young modulus. |
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