Malays. Appl. Biol. (2018) 47(1): 209–215
IMPROVED MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF SILANE TREATED
JUTE/POLYETHYLENE/CLAY NANOCOMPOSITES
MD. FARUK HOSSEN1,2*, SININ HAMDAN1 and MD. REZAUR RAHMAN1
1Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300 Kota Samarahan,
Sarawak, Malaysia
2Faculty of Science, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi-6205, Bangladesh
*E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Accepted 6 February 2018, Published online 31 March 2018
ABSTRACT
In recent years, the jute reinforced polyethylene nanocomposites have developed attention to the scientists. The hydrophilic nature of fiber and nanofillers exhibited poor interfacial interaction to hydrophobic polymer matrix. In this study, silane treated jute and organically modified different types of montmorillonite (MMT-1.28E, MMT-1.30E, MMT-1.31PS, MMT-1.34TCN, and MMT-1.44P) nanoclays were used for the manufacturing of the nanocomposites. Tensile tests, Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) were carried out to investigate the mechanical and surface characterizations. The improved interfacial adhesion among jute, polyethylene (PE), and nanoclay in the composite system were reflected on the mechanical behaviour. It was observed that, the treated jute composites showed higher tensile strength and modulus compared to raw jute composites and the nanoclay filled composites showed higher values compared to without nanoclay one. In addition, the MMT-1.31PS filled nanocomposites found highest improvement among the five nanoclays used in this work.
Key words: Jute fiber, chemical treatment, montmorillonite, nanocomposites, mechanical properties
