Studies on jute nano fiber reinforced epoxy polymer composites

Abstract

Environmental issues across the world have drawn the attention of researchers to use low-reinforced composites in construction, packaging, automobile industries etc. Since natural fibers are present in abundance, they play a pivotal role in solving resource shortage coupled with environment protection. Jute, a natural fiber available in India is used as reinforcement in composites, because it is cheap, renewable and easy to process. Jute composites have drawn the attention of various industries and researchers. The present work deals with the preparation of jute nanofibers by the chemical and physical treatment of jute fibers. The chemical treatment involves mercerization of jute fibers, followed by 1M HCl acid treatment at a temperature of around 60-80°C. This is followed by 2% sodium hydroxide treatment at 80°C. After the chemical treatment, the fibers are subjected to physical treatment, by phasing the fibers in a pressure cooker and applying a pressure of 0.078MPa for 30 minutes to get nano jute fibers. The nano jute fibers are characterized by the FTIR and the surface morphology has been studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Further, the fiber diameter was calculated by the FE-TEM and AFM. These jute nano fibers were iv incorporated as reinforcement material in an epoxy matrix, and the resulting composites were characterized by the dynamic mechanical analysis, thermo gravimetric analysis, heat deflection temperature, TEM, AFM, and X-Ray Diffraction. Mechanical properties such as tensile strength, and the flexural strength, impact and hardness of the composites were determined according to ASTM standards, to learn about the fiber/matrix adhesion. The mechanical properties were found to be improved in the case of nano jute fiber reinforced composites than in the macro jute fiber reinforced composites. A Dynamic mechanical analysis was done to understand the effect of fiber modification on the properties of the composites.