Effect of Chemical Modification on Mechanical Behaviour of Polypropylene Reinforced Pineapple Crown Fibers Composites

AbstractIn this work was investigated a treatment method, which can be applied to pineapple fibers from crown with low environmental impact to improve its interfacial contact with polypropylene. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Thermal analysis (TGA) were used to characterise the effect of treatment on pineapple fibers from crown. Furthermore, it was evaluated the performance of modified pineapple fibers from crown as reinforcement in polypropylene for impact tests. Results revealed that the treatment proposed on fibers surface improved the impact strength of composites. Treated pineapple fibers composites had the highest impact, with an increase of 14% compared to the pure polypropylene