Effect of styrene butadiene rubber on torque properties and morphological properties of kenaf core fiber reinforced polypropylene composites

Abstract

The biocomposites of kenaf core fibre (KCF) reinforced polypropylene (PP) were made by melting mixing in a Brabender internal mixer with the addition of styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) as a toughening agent. On the basis of the processing torque generated by the internal mixer, the effect of varying amounts of SBR on KCF reinforced PP was examined. The finding indicates that a nearly identical trend in processing torque was seen across all biocomposites compositions. Nonetheless, it was fascinating to see that as SBR loading increases, the stabilizing torque of the biocomposites increases. FESEM was utilized to characterize the fracture surface of the composites following mechanical failure. Although morphological investigations demonstrate that the presence of matrix fibrillation led to the enhancement of the toughness qualities of KCFPP composites, the presence of agglomeration and non-dispersed KCF may be related to data collected from melt blending processing torque.