Differential Scanning Calorimetry Studies for Composites and Fibers

8 Differential Scanning Calorimetry Studies for Composites and Fibers 

The results from the DSC analysis are given in Table 6.5, where the thermal properties such as crystallization heat (AH ), melting heat (AH ) and percentage of crystallinity (X ) are listed. The crystallinity of the PP component was determined using the equation 2, below  

The crystallinity of PP increased with the addition of coconut fibers. However, the crystallinity also increased because the fiber surface acts as a nucleation site for the crystallization of the polymer, promoting the development and formation of transcrystalline regions around the fiber. 

Ihe composite reinforced with coconut fibers presented an increase in the enthalpy of crystallization (AH ) of the PP phase with coconut fiber, indicating that fibers promoted the crystallization process [34] (Table 6.5). This result maybe explained by considering the ability of the fibers for nucleating the crystallization of polypropylene. We also observed a decrease in the enthalpy of melting (AH ) for the composites with respect to PP alone. It is clear from Table 6.5 that the addition of coconut fiber to PP results in an increase in of the PP matrix. The (X ) for composites reinforced with modified fibers remained independent of the treatment. Therefore, the composites reinforced with coconut fibers treated with hot water 20%/ PP showed the best results. This treatment works quickly and is lower in cost than the other treatments. 

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