Affiliations 

  • 1 Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products (INTROP), Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia
  • 2 Laboratory of Adhesion & Bio-Composites, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
  • 3 Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia
Materials (Basel), 2019 Dec 05;12(24).
PMID: 31817323 DOI: 10.3390/ma12244043

Abstract

In this study, the effects of lignin modification on the properties of kenaf core fiber reinforced poly(butylene succinate) biocomposites were examined. A weight percent gain (WPG) value of 30.21% was recorded after the lignin were modified with maleic anhydride. Lower mechanical properties were observed for lignin composites because of incompatible bonding between the hydrophobic matrix and the hydrophilic lignin. Modified lignin (ML) was found to have a better interfacial bonding, since maleic anhydrides remove most of the hydrophilic hydrogen bonding (this was proven by a Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer-a reduction of broadband near 3400 cm-1, corresponding to the -OH stretching vibration of hydroxyl groups for the ML samples). On the other hand, ML was found to have a slightly lower glass transition temperature, Tg, since reactions with maleic anhydride destroy most of the intra- and inter-molecular hydrogen bonds, resulting in a softer structure at elevated temperatures. The addition of kraft lignin was found to increase the thermal stability of the PBS polymer composites, while modified kraft lignin showed higher thermal stability than pure kraft lignin and possessed delayed onset thermal degradation temperature.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.