Bamboo fiber (BF)-filled poly(butylenes succinate) bio-composite Effect of BF-e-MA on the properties and crystallization kinetics

Effects of bamboo fiber (BF)esterified with maleic anhydride (MA) (BFeMA) on the properties of BFfilled poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) biocomposites were investigated. Adding 5% BFeMA increased the tensile strength of the PBS/BF (70/30) composite from 21 MPa to 28 MPa in the presence of radical initiator (0.5%). Melt viscosity was also increased by adding BFeMA. The Avrami and Ozawa equations were used to analyze the isothermal and nonisothermal crystallization kinetics, respectively. At the same crystallization temperature, all composites showed lower values for the Avrami and Ozawa exponents than pure PBS. Furthermore, the values for the PBS/BFeMA composite were smaller than those for the PBS/BF composite. Equilibrium watersorption amount (M-infinity) were highest for the composite without BFeMA, followed by the composites with BFeMA and finally pure PBS. The diffusion coefficient (D) was smaller for the composites with BFeMA than without. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that interfacial adhesion between BF and PBS matrix was improved after addition of BFeMA.