Mechanical and thermal properties and water absorption of jute fiber reinforced poly(butylene succinate) biodegradable composites

The poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) biodegradable composites reinforced with jute fibers were developed. The effect of fiber content (10-60wt%) on the properties and water absorption of jute/PBS biodegradable composites was studied. The effect of alkali, silane, and combined alkali and silane surface treatment on the properties and water absorption of jute/PBS composites was investigated. The mechanical properties of surface treated jute/PBS composites were significantly higher than those of untreated ones. Compared with alkali or silane treatment, the combined alkali and silane surface treatment showed better mechanical properties of jute/PBS composites. The best mechanical properties of jute/PBS composites were achieved at 50wt% in this study, which showed an increase in tensile strength by 517.9%, tensile modulus by 3529.8%, flexural strength by 302.6%, and flexural modulus by 1949.1% compared with those of PBS resin. Fractured surface morphologies of composite specimens exhibited an improvement of interfacial fiber-matrix adhesion in the composites reinforced with surface-treated jute fibers. The surface-treated jute/PBS composites having good fiber-matrix adhesion resulted in stable composites with better thermal stability than untreated jute/PBS composites. The water absorption amount of the composites increased with increasing the fiber content. The surface-treated jute/PBS composites showed relatively lower water absorption behavior compared to untreated ones.