• Roslim, Muhammad Huzaifah Mohd
• Radzuan, Mohd Nazren
• Shafi, Ayu Rafiqah
• Abdullah, Norihan
• Hao, Lee Ching
• Abdan, Khalina

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Despite the increasing interest in polyamide-based composites, few studies on polyamide-based natural fiber composites have been conducted due to their high melting temperatures of polyamide 6 (PA6). In this study, kenaf fiber-reinforced polyamide 6 composites (KF/PA6) were successfully prepared and their properties were investigated. Thermogravimetric analysis demonstrated that the neat PA6 has higher thermal stability with higher melting temperatures of 426°C, respectively, than KF/PA6 composites. The results of the differential scanning calorimeter showed that the glass transition temperature (<jats:italic>T</jats:italic><jats:sub>g</jats:sub>) of KF/PA6 composites was slightly shifted to a higher temperature at 59°C than that of the neat PA6 at 45°C. The thermal and mechanical characteristics using dynamic mechanical analysis results showed that the storage and loss modulus of the neat PA6 were higher than those of KF/PA6 composites. The neat PA6 showed the maximum tensile strength of 48 MPa; however, the maximum tensile modulus was obtained at 10 wt% KF with 2,100 MPa. The flexural strength and modulus of the neat PA6 were 91 and 2,506 MPa, respectively, which were higher than those of KF/PA6 composites. The impact strength also deteriorated with the addition of KF, from 3.72 to 1.91 kJ·m<jats:sup>−2</jats:sup>. Voids, fiber pulled-out, and agglomeration were observed in scanning electron microscope analysis on the tensile fractured surfaces.</jats:p>

Topics

• surface
• glass
• glass
• strength
• composite
• flexural strength
• thermogravimetry
• glass transition temperature
• tensile strength
• void
• melting temperature
• dynamic mechanical analysis