Abstract
A preliminary investigation was done in this study to determine the maximum loading of banana fiber (BF) in poly (lactic acid) (PLA) matrices. The weight percent of BF were varied from 0,10,20 wt% and were blended using a co-rotating twin screw extruder. The morphological and mechanical aspect of this particular biocomposite were studied. The tensile modulus showed a steady increment up to 20 wt% of BF but the tensile strength, elongation at break and impact strength were reduced with the addition of BF. The compatibilizer, Joncryl was added to the biocomposite, to remedy the deteriorated mechanical properties incurred by the PLA/BF biocomposite. Incorporation of Joncryl proved to improve the mechanical properties of the biocomposite. The compatibilized PLA/BF biocomposite, both at 10 and 20 wt% BF contents shown a drastic improvement of 19 % and 9 %, in term of its impact strength, compared to the uncompatibilized counterpart. The Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) micrograph obtained for uncompatibilized PLA/BF biocomposite showed some interfacial gap presence, specifically at the interfacial area while for the compatibilized biocomposite, the gap appeared to be smaller and lesser. The Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis revealed that there was an interaction between an epoxy group of Joncryl with the carboxyl group of PLA and hydroxyl group of BF. This was proved by the formation of a new peak at the wavelength of 1,747.4 cm-1 and 1,711.8 cm-1 that further justified the properties enhancement experienced by the compatibilized biocomposite.
