Unveiling of mechanical, morphological, and thermal characteristics of alkali-treated flax and pine cone fiber-reinforced polylactic acid (PLA) composites: fabrication and characterizations
摘要
Recently, there has been a resurgence of interest in biomaterials with an emphasis on biodegradability due to the crucial conversation regarding recycling and the preservation of natural resources. In this research work, the natural fiber reinforced with polylactic acid (PLA) composites was fabricated using the compression molding technique. The flax and pine cone fibers are the reinforcements, whereas PLA is the binding material. In this investigation, composites were fabricated in three combinations, 90:10, 80:20, and 70:30 matrix-reinforcement ratios. An alkaline treatment was carried out to get rid of lignin—hemicellulose and cellulose from the outer surface of the natural fibers. The FTIR and TGA studies revealed that the alkaline treatment was successful. The presence of cellulose with free OH groups is substantially evidenced by the broad band that arose at approximately 3300 cm−1. Conversely, the C-H absorption band can be observed at 2900 cm−1. The NaOH treatment of the treated fibers results in the disappearance of the peak at 1800 cm−1, which is indicative of a reduction in lignin, and hemicellulosic content. Thermal degradation of both fibers occurred from 40 to 700 °C. In Fig.