Impact of fiber length on mechanical, morphological and thermal analysis of chemical treated jute fiber polymer composites for sustainable applications

Abstract

Nowadays, researchers are striving forward to find an alternative sustainable material for harmful man-made fibers. In line with this, natural fibers are more recommended as sustainable reinforcements because of their specific properties suited for diverse applications. The present work deals with the inclusive characterization of thermal, mechanical and microstructural properties of alkali treated jute fiber polymer composites with special emphasis on fiber length. Composite samples are fabricated via compression molding technique by a constant weight proportion of 60 ​wt% isopthalic polyester (IP) and 40 ​wt% chopped alkali treated jute fiber (ATJF) of various lengths (5 ​mm, 10 ​mm, 15 ​mm, 20 ​mm and 25 ​mm). The mechanical performance of fabricated composites is assessed by doing tensile, impact and flexural tests and found better composite properties for 20 ​mm fiber length. Also, the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) as well as Differential thermogravimetric analysis (DTA) confirmed better thermal stability (approx. 280 ​°C) for the fabricated composite. In addition, the Fourier Transformation Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) describes the functional groups, estimated average grain size 13.0789675 ​Å and morphological features of developed composites respectively. As a result, the above assessment promotes a better impact to polymer industries by employing the fabricated sustainable composites in divergent lightweight and high strength applications.

Keywords

• Jute fiber
• Treated polymer composite
• Thermal analysis
• Mechanical analysis
• Microstructural analysis