Effectiveness of Silanization and Plasma Treatment in the Improvement of Selected Flax Fibers’ Properties

Abstract

The study investigated the effectiveness of the combination of chemical and physical methods of natural fibers’ modification. The long flax fibers were subjected to various types of modification. These were silanization, plasma modification and a combination of these methods. For the silanization process, two types of silanes were used: amino- and vinylsilane. The application of structurally different compounds allowed us to acquire knowledge about the effect of the modifier structure on its properties. Various properties of flax fibers were investigated, comparing the results before and after different modification processes. The flammability of prepared samples were tested by pyrolysis combustion flow calorimeter (PCFC). In the effect of the natural fibers’ modifications, flammability was reduced even by 30%. The thermal stability of modified fibers increased. The FTIR tests of the gases released during thermal degradation of the tested fibers allowed us to determine the important compounds and prove a lower degree of flax-fiber decomposition after modification. Flax fibers were also tested to evaluate their physical properties (linear mass, average diameter, aspect ratio and hygroscopicity). Changes in surface morphology were observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The properties of natural fibers improved significantly, thus contributing to an increase in their suitability for the use in composites.

Polysiloxanes and Silanes with Various Functional Groups—New Compounds for Flax Fibers’ Modification

“…Modification with vinyl silane caused an approx. 10% increase in HRR, which is a normal phenomenon for this type of modification [ 24 ].…”

“…In our previous work, we focused on the modification of fibers in various forms (fiber, fabric, roving) using silanes with various functional groups [ 23 ]. We also used a two-step modification process (plasma and silanization) [ 24 ].…”

Recent Advances in Natural Fibre-Based Materials for Food Packaging Applications

“…Combining chemical treatments with physical plasma treatments was studied on flax fibres by Gieparda et al [ 127 ] to understand the synergistic effects. The authors used silanisation and plasma treatment both individually and in combination.…”

Hemp Fibre Properties and Processing Target Textile: A Review

“…In the situation where the cell walls uptake water, the fibres swell until the forces of water sorption are counterbalanced by the cohesive forces of the cell walls [ 54 , 55 ]. A high content of crystalline cellulose in raw material negatively affected the accessibility and swelling of cellulose fibres [ 56 ]. In the case of flax fibres, the transverse swelling area is 47% and the swelling size of hemp fibres is very similar.…”