Crystallization and dynamic mechanical behavior of coir fiber reinforced poly(Butylene succinate) biocomposites

Abstract

The crystallization behavior, crystal morphology and form, and viscoelastic behavior of poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) and coir fiber/PBS composites (CPB) were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polar-ized optical microscopy (POM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). The results of DSC measurement show that the crystallization temperature increases with the filling of coir fibers. POM images reveal that the spherulitic size and crystallization behavior of PBS are influenced by the coir fibers in the compo-sites. XRD curves show that the crystal form of pure PBS and CPB are remaining almost identical. In addition, the storage modulus of CPB significantly increases comparing with the pure PBS. This predicted the dimensional stability and improved load-deformation temperature. In conclusion, the addition of coir fibers has a significant effect on the thermal properties of the matrix.