Influence of fiber treatment on the performance of sisal-polypropylene composites

This article concerns the effectiveness of MAPP as a coupling agent in sisal-polypropylene composites. The fiber loading, MAPP concentration, and fiber treatment time influenced the mechanical properties of the composites. It was observed that the composites prepared at 21 volume percent of fibers with 1% MAPP concentration exhibits optimum mechanical strength. SEM investigations confirmed that the increase in properties is caused by improved fiber-matrix adhesion. The viscoelastic properties of the treated and untreated composites were also studied. From the storage modulus versus temperature plots, an increase in the magnitude of the peaks was observed with the addition of MAPP and fiber reinforcement, thus showing an improvement in stiffness of the treated composites. The damping properties of the composites, however, decreased with the addition of the fibers and MAPP. The thermal properties of the composites were analyzed through DSC and TGA measurements. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.