Oil Palm Fiber-Polyvinyl Chloride Composites

It has been reported that ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of pure PVC- epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) blend reduced from 9 MPa to 6 MPa upon addition of 30% OPFs [11]. The reduction in tensile strength of composites at higher fiber loading was due to the agglomeration of the filler particles to form a domain that acts like a foreign body. 

The glass transition temperature (T ) of OPF-PVC-ENR composite increased with fiber content [70] However the thermal stability was not affected significantly with addition of OPF. Benzoylation treatment on fiber reduced the glass transition temperature (Tg) of OPF-PVC composites (64°C) than that of pure PVC (79.16°C) whereas Tg of untreated OPF composite (80.29°C) and pure PVC were not significantly different 67 (Bakar and Baharulrazi, 2008). Decrease in Tg was due to plasticization effect of fibers that diffused or dissolved into the PVC matrix. 

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