RATIONALIZATION OF JUTE FIBER REINFORCED POLYLACTIC ACID COMPOSITES FOR AUTOMOTIVE INTERIOR DESIGN.

The effect of surface treatment on jute fiber surface structure was investigated, and further jute fiber/poly composites were prepared by melt blending method, and the effect of surface modification of jute fiber on the interfacial properties and mechanical properties of the composites was studied. It is shown that different surface treatments can improve the surface structure of jute fiber to different degrees and improve the interfacial bonding properties of jute fiber/poly composites. Among them, alkali treatment removes surface hemicellulose and lignin, resulting in increased crystallinity, decreased diameter, and increased fiber surface roughness. The silane coupling agent KH-550 treatment was most beneficial in improving the mechanical properties of jute fiber reinforced PLA composites, with a 23.3% increase in tensile strength and 11.6% increase in notched impact strength over the jute fiber reinforced PLA composites without surface treatment. The modified jute fiber/poly composites had superior hydrolysis resistance, with an 18.7% reduction in mass loss and a 33.8% increase in tensile strength retention after 150 h of hydrolysis in an alkaline environment when the jute fiber content was 40 wt%. This paper shows that the fatigue properties of PLA composites are improved by introducing the above two materials and suitable material ratios, which provide effective data support for making PLA composites applicable to automotive interior area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]