A solvent free graft copolymerization of maleic anhydride onto cellulose acetate butyrate bioplastic by reactive extrusion

Abstract

Interfacial adhesion between fibers and matrix is a crucial factor for effective stress transfer from matrix to fiber; especially in short fiber reinforced composite systems. The use of a chemical compatibilizer is an efficient means to achieve such adhesion. Maleic anhydride-grafted-cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB-g-MA) is one such compatibilizer which can be used in biocomposite fabrication, and this has been synthesized in our laboratory by utilizing a twin-screw reactive extrusion process in the presence of a free radical initiator (2,5-dimethyl-2,5-di(tert-butylperoxy)hexane). The unique feature of this process is its solvent-free approach for grafting of maleic anhydride onto CAB, without hydroxyl group protection. CAB-g-MA was characterized using FTIR as well as by a non-aqueous titration method. The effects of initiator and monomer concentrations and various processing conditions on the graft content were also investigated. The preliminary results show that by adding approximately 10 wt.-% of CAB-g-MA into a plasticized cellulose acetate butyrate (TEB)-industrial hemp fiber biocomposites system, an improvement in tensile strength (20%) and in tensile modulus (45%) were obtained. These results are promising in that they pave the way for future studies involving the use of CAB-g-MA as a suitable compatibilizer for cellulose ester-natural fiber biocomposites