Abstract. Natural fibers are widely used as plastic composite material reinforcements. In this work, composites of postconsumer high-density polyethylene (HDPE) reinforced with sisal fibers were prepared. PE and sisal fibers were chemically modified to improve their compatibilities, try to increase the hydrophobic character of the sisal fiber and hydrophilic character HDPE. Sisal was mercerized with a NaOH solution and acetylated and the PE was oxidized with KMnO4 solution. The chemically modified fibers were characterized by Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and 13 C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ( 13 C NMR). The composites were prepared by extrusion of modified and unmodified materials containing either 5 or 10 wt% fibers. The morphology of the obtained materials was evaluated by SEM. The fiber chemical modification improves it adhesion with matrix, but not benefit were obtained with HDPE oxidation. Flexural and impact tests demonstrated that the composites prepared with modified sisal fibers and unmodified PE present improved mechanical performance compared to pure PE.
When this article was first published in Polymer Composites, 35:768–774, 2014; DOI: , the lead authors name was incorrectly supplied to the Publisher. His correct name appears above. The authors apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.