Thermal degradation of coir fiber reinforced low-density polyethylene composites

In the present study, the effect of fiber surface treatments (alkali and acrylic acid) on the thermal degradation behavior of coir fiber (CF)-low-density polyethylene (LDPE) composites with or without compatibilizer (maleic anhydride grafted LDPE, MA-g-LDPE) using thermogravimetric and derivative thermogravimetric analyses (TG/DTG) was analyzed and compared with those of untreated fiber composites. The TG/DTG results revealed that the thermal stability of the CF improved after the chemical treatments. However, the composite containing treated fiber showed lower thermal stability and started to degrade at a faster rate above 380 degrees C in comparison to composites containing untreated fiber composites. Furthermore, the addition of MA-g-LDPE led to improvement in the thermal stability of both treated and untreated fiber composites in comparison to the same composite formulation without MA-g-LDPE. The composite containing untreated fiber and MA-g-LDPE demonstrated superior thermal stability among all the formulated composites, indicating strong fiber-matrix adhesion.