Effect of polyethylene-graft-maleic anhydride (PE-g-MAH) as compatibilizer on thermal properties and XRD characterization of low density polyethylene/natural rubber/water hyacinth fiber (Eichhornia Crassipes) composites.

Abstract

Composites low density polyethylene and natural rubber blends with different water hyacinth fibers (WHF) content were prepared with Z-blade mixer at 180oC and rotor speed of 50rpm. The effect of polyethylene maleic anhydride (PE-g-MAH) as compatibilizer on thermal properties and XRD characteristic of low density polyethylene/ natural rubber/water hyacinth fibers composites were studied. The incorporation of compatibilizer into the blend tends to increase the thermal stability and decrease the percentage of crystallinity by lowering the Tm. This is because compatibilizer increase the interfacial addition between the filler and matrix and reduce the surface tension. . The incorporation of compatibilizer into the blend tends to increase the glass transition temperature (Tg). Interparticle spacing (d) of LDPE/NR/WHF composites with PE-g-MAH has lower reading, this indicated that the WHF and LDPE/NR matrix have a better bonding.