Abstract
The objective of this investigation is to explore the influence of rice husk nano-particles (RHN) in determining the physical, mechanical, thermal, and morphological properties of Borassus leaf fiber (BLF) reinforced epoxy hybrid composites. The leaf of Borassus flabellifer L. was used to extract a novel genus of natural cellulosic fiber and treated with a sodium hydroxide solution to reduce the non-cellulosic contents. RHN obtained from rice husk was blended with epoxy resin to modify them with 0.25, 0.45, and 0.65 wt.%, respectively, using mechanical stirring and sonication processes. The hand lay-up method was used for the fabrication of composites. Among the developed composites, the superior performance was observed with 0.45 wt.% RHN blend composites for tensile strength, tensile modulus, flexural modulus (14 MPa, 489 MPa, and 15 GPa, respectively), reduced voids, and reduced water absorption capability (1.707% and 4.62%, respectively). From the obtained results, it could be concluded that as the RHN wt.% increased, the hardness of the composites increased (30.25 to 35.25 HB), while the flexural strength (43.10 to 31.42 MPa) and impact strength (43.32 to 38.02 kJ/m2) gradually decreased. TG and DTG analysis confirm that the improved thermal stability and maximum degradation temperature were 381 °C and 411 °C, respectively, for the 0.45 wt.% RHN blend composites. SEM analysis of the fractured surface of the composites shows that the RHN blend with epoxy improved the fiber-matrix adhesion properties. The fabricated composites are to be used for low-cost building materials, home appliances, automotive parts, and other suitable commercial applications.
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The data and materials used/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Abbreviations
- ASTM:
-
American standard testing methods
- BLF:
-
Borassus leaf fiber
- BLFs:
-
Borassus leaf fibers
- DTG:
-
Derivative thermogravimetry
- HCL:
-
Hydrochloric acid
- LC:
-
Least count
- RH:
-
Rice husk
- RHN:
-
Rice husk nanoparticles
- SEM:
-
Scanning electron microscope
- TGA:
-
Thermo gravimetric analysis
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The authors would like to give special thanks to the Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology and OP Jindal University for providing the necessary resources and support for this research paper.
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Singh, J.K., Rout, A.K. Study on the physical, mechanical, and thermal behaviour of RHN blend epoxy hybrid composites reinforced by Borassus flabellifer L. fibers. Cellulose 30, 5033–5049 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-023-05191-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-023-05191-y