Cotton-banana fibre reinforced natural rubber based thermally stable biodegradable flexible composite
摘要
For the first time, a banana-cotton (20:80 w/w) fibre-based mechanically interlocked structure, sodium lignosulfonate (SLS) and plant-based natural rubber biomacromolecule were used for the manufacturing of a flame-resistant, biodegradable, flexible composite. Before mixing with cotton, banana fibre was extracted from the pseudostem, dried and chemically modified for better compatibility with cotton and rubber-based polymer matrix formulation. Interlocked fibrous structure was treated with natural rubber-based formulation, comprised of sodium ligno-sulfonate (50 g/L, 100 g/L and 200 g/L), di-ammonium phosphate (25 g/L and 50 g/L), cross-linker, an activator and an accelerator. Fibre content inside the flame-resistant composite structure and weightage have been optimized to be around 35–40% and 350–400 g/m2, respectively. It was found that the 100 g/L SLS-incorporated flexible composite material showed an LOI value of 25, compared to 18 for the flexible composite with no SLS and DAP. Developed material has also been examined for temperature release during live-burning conditions, differential thermal analysis (DTA), and thermogravimetric behaviour (TGA) in nitrogen and air atmospheres. Additionally, the surface morphology, cross-section, chemical interactions, and charring behaviour of all the flexible composite materials have been examined using SEM and FTIR analysis. Moreover, the mechanism underlying the flame-resistant action and the cross-linking network between the fibre-based reinforcement and the polymer matrix has also been postulated. Developed a flexible structure that showcased tensile strength and flexibility overa range of 6–7 N/mm2 and 2.5 lakh cycles, respectively.Finally, important performance properties of the developed product, such as permeability, absorbency, capillary action, swelling behaviour, etc., have also been recorded.