Characterization of New Cellulosic Cyrtostachys renda and Ptychosperma macarthurii Fibers from Landscaping Plants

ABSTRACT

Cyrtostachys renda (CR) and Ptychosperma macarthurii (PM) fibers, as new cellulosic fibers were studied. The objective of this research is to evaluate the fibers from stem, leaf stalk, and frond of these two plants as reinforcement in the polymer composites. The density, chemical composition, functional group, crystallinity index, and thermal stability were studied for CR and PM fibers. From the analysis, the density and thermal stability of both leaf stalk fibers are found almost similar. The highest crystallinity index (55.67%) of the leaf stalk of CR was attributed to the highest cellulosic content (38.99%) and the functional group (C-H stretching). From the results, the optimized properties were found for the leaf stalk of CR fiber. The tensile strength, interfacial shear strength (IFSS), morphology of the leaf stalk of CR were explored. The ultimate tensile strength, Young modulus, and IFSS of the leaf stalk of CR is 51.82 ± 9.41 MPa, 0.69 ± 0.18 GPa, and 3.27 ± 0.5 MPa, respectively. The Scanning Electron Microscopy observation revealed that the leaf stalk fiber of CR possesses anti-microbial properties which has been corroborated through the presence of silica bodies over the fiber surface. Hence, the leaf stalk of CR acts as a potential reinforcement in the polymeric composites for lightweight applications.

摘要

研究了Cyrtostachys renda（CR）和Mactyhurs macarthurii（PM）纤维，作为新的纤维素纤维. 这项研究的目的是评估来自这两种植物的茎，叶茎和叶的纤维，作为聚合物复合材料中的增强材料. 研究了Cyrtostachys renda和Ptychosperma macarthurii纤维的密度，化学组成，官能团，结晶度指数和热稳定性. 通过分析，发现两种叶茎纤维的密度和热稳定性几乎相似. Cyrtostachys renda叶茎的最高结晶度指标（55.67％）归因于最高的纤维素含量（38.99％）和官能团（C-H拉伸）. 从结果中，发现了Cyrtostachys renda纤维的叶茎的优化特性. 研究了Cyrtostachys renda叶茎的拉伸强度，界面剪切强度（IFSS）和形态. 圆柏的茎秆的极限抗拉强度，杨氏模量和IFSS分别为51.82±9.41MPa，0.69±0.18 GPa和3.27±0.5 MPa. 扫描电子显微镜观察表明，Cyrtostachys renda的叶茎纤维具有抗微生物特性，该特性已通过纤维表面上存在二氧化硅主体而得到证实. 因此，Cyrtostachys renda的茎秆在轻质应用的聚合物复合材料中起到潜在的增强作用.

KEYWORDS:

• Cyrtostachys renda
• Ptychosperma macarthurii
• stem top
• stem middle
• stem bottom
• leaf stalk
• frond

关键词:

• Ptychosperma macarthurii
• 茎顶
• 茎中部
• 茎底
• 叶茎
• 前叶

Acknowledgments

This work is supported by UPM under GPB grant, 9668200. The authors would like to express their gratitude and sincere appreciation to the Department of Aerospace Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia and Laboratory of Biocomposite Technology, Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products (INTROP), Universiti Putra Malaysia (HICOE) for the close collaboration in this research.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Geran Putra Berimpak (GPB) [9668200]; Universiti Putra Malaysia [9668200].