Effect of montmorillonite nanoclay on temperature dependence mechanical properties of naturally woven coconut sheath/polyester composite

The untreated, NaOH and silane-treated naturally woven coconut sheath/polyester composites have been developed using compression molding technique by varying the weight percentage (1, 2, 3, and 5 wt%) of organically modified montmorillonite (MMT) nanoclay to find the mechanical properties as a function of temperature. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope have been performed to understand the distribution of nanoclay mechanism and morphological structure of treated coconut sheath fiber. Dynamic mechanical analysis revealed a decrease in storage modulus (E') with the increase in temperature by a considerable fall in the temperature range of 50a to 110a. The loss modulus (Ea) and damping peaks (tan delta) were found to be higher after the chemical treatment of coconut sheath. The maximum increase in E' and Ea values were found in the case of silane-treated composites. In all types of composites, the dynamic factors were observed to increase with the incorporation of nanoclay but the anomalous trend was noticed according to the wt%. A slight increase in shift of glass transition temperature value was noticed in association with the Ea peaks for silane and NaOH-treated composites compared to untreated composites.