Characterization of Urena lobata Fibers after Alkaline Treatment for Use in Polymer Composites

ABSTRACT

In this work, treated and untreated Urena lobata fibers were characterized for use in polymer composites. The Urena lobata fibers were extracted by the water retting method and treated with 6 wt% NaOH solution. The influence of the alkaline treatment was characterized by chemical analysis, tensile tests, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). It was observed from the results of the chemical analysis that cellulose (59.85 ± 0.03%), hemicelluloses (15.47 ± 0.015%) and acid-insoluble lignin (26.13 ± 0.027%) increased, while there was a reduction in acid-soluble lignin (23.01 ± 0.015%) and ash (0.57 ± 0.01%). The treated fibers showed enhanced mechanical and structural properties than the untreated fibers due to more exposure of the crystalline cellulose in the treated fibers. The results compared well with other established natural fibers used for polymer matrix composite developments.

摘要

在这项工作中，处理和未处理Urena兜水母目纤维的特点是用于聚合物复合材料. 采用水浸法提取Urena兜水母目纤维，用6% wt% NaOH溶液处理. 通过化学分析、拉伸试验、扫描电镜(SEM)、x射线衍射(XRD)和红外光谱(FTIR)等手段对碱化处理的影响进行了表征. 化学分析结果显示，纤维素(59.85±0.03%)、半纤维素(15.47±0.015%)和酸不溶性木质素(26.13±0.027%)增加，而酸溶性木质素(23.01±0.015%)和灰分(0.57±0.01%)减少. 处理过的纤维比未处理过的纤维表现出更强的机械和结构性能，这是由于处理过的纤维中有更多的结晶纤维素. 研究结果与其它天然纤维用于聚合物基复合材料的研究结果进行了比较.

KEYWORDS:

• Natural fibers
• Urena lobata fibers
• alkaline treatment
• structural properties
• chemical analysis
• crystalline cellulose

关键词:

• 天然纤维
• Urena兜水母目纤维
• 碱性治疗
• 结构特性
• 化学分析
• 结晶纤维素

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the funding provided by the management of Federal University Technology Owerri Imo State through the Tertiary Education Fund (TETFund); and also the technical assistance received from Sustainable Energy & Environment Research Unit (SEERU), of University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg, South Africa.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Federal University of Technology Owerri through the TETFund [N/A].