Abstract:
There is a heighten interest on natural fiber
reinforced polymer composites to achieve superior, mechanical
properties. However, such composites are limited due to the
poor compatibility between natural-fiber reinforcement and
polymer matrices. An enhanced fiber-polymer interface
compatibility was achieved for microcrystalline Cellulose
(MCC) and hydrophobic polymer, polypropylene (PP) system
using sunflower oil biodiesel (SFEE) based surface treatments.
Surface treated MCC was characterized based on their
morphology, crystallinity, chemical structure and wettability.
The influence of compositional variations of surface modified
MCC on composite properties was also studied.
