The Effect of Maleic Anhydride Polyethylene on Mechanical Properties of Pineapple Leaf Fibre Reinforced Polylactic Acid Composites

In recent years, people gradually realize that the environment is deteriorating, and the research of biodegradation properties of natural fiber composites has indeed aroused many people's interest. Pineapple leaves (PALF) are not only biodegradable, but also environmentally friendly to synthetic leaves. However, the interface adhesion between the polymer matrix and the natural fiber is poor, resulting in weak stress transfer under load. These composites exhibit low mechanical strength.

Therefore, the effects of fber loading and maleic anhydride polyethylene (MAPE) on the mechanical properties of PALF reinforced polylactic acid composites were studied in this paper. Therefore, 0, 5, 10 and 15% PALF and 10% PALF were prepared by mixing at 190°C rolling mill, and then the samples were prepared by hot compression molding. The results of this study showed that the tensile strength (TS) and Young's modulus of untreated 10% PALF were the highest, while the fber content decreased with the increase of fber content. In addition, the addition of MAPE showed lower tensile properties than untreated ones. However, with the presence of MAPE, the properties and impact properties of the composite increase. The results show that the mechanical properties depend on two main factors: (1) fber loading and (2) the compatibility of the matrix polymer with fber.