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Palm fibre-reinforced hybrid composites of poly(butylene succinate): characterisation and assessment of mechanical and thermal properties

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Abstract

The biodegradability and mechanical and thermal properties of composite materials made from glycidyl methacrylate-grafted poly(butylene succinate) (PBS-g-GMA) and palm fibre (PF) were evaluated. Composites of PBS-g-GMA and PF (PBS-g-GMA/PF) exhibited noticeably superior mechanical properties compared with those of PBS/PF, due to greater compatibility of PBS-g-GMA with PF. The dispersion of PF in the PBS-g-GMA matrix was highly homogeneous as a result of condensation reactions. In addition, the PBS-g-GMA/PF composites were more easily processed due to their lower melt torque. The water resistance of PBS-g-GMA/PF was higher than that of PBS/PF, although the weight loss of composites buried in soil compost indicated that both were biodegradable, especially at high levels of PF substitution. The PBS/PF and PBS-g-GMA/PF composites were more biodegradable than pure PBS, which implies a strong connection between PF content and biodegradability.

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Acknowledgments

The author thanks the National Science Council (Taipei City, Taiwan, R.O.C.) for financial support (NSC 102-2622-E-244-002-CC3).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Kao Yuan University, Kaohsiung County, 82101, Taiwan, Republic of China

    Chin-San Wu, Hsin-Tzu Liao & Jheng-Jie Jhang

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  1. Chin-San Wu
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  2. Hsin-Tzu Liao
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Correspondence to Chin-San Wu.

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Wu, CS., Liao, HT. & Jhang, JJ. Palm fibre-reinforced hybrid composites of poly(butylene succinate): characterisation and assessment of mechanical and thermal properties. Polym. Bull. 70, 3443–3462 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-013-1032-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-013-1032-y

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