• Abstract
• Full-Text PDF [1526 KB]
• Full-Text XML
• Article Versions Notes

• Article Statistics
• Google Scholar
• Order Reprints

• Cite this article
• Export to BibTeX
• Export to EndNote

• [+] on DOAJ
• Calabia, BP.
• Ninomiya, F
• Yagi, H
• Oishi, A
• Taguchi, K
• Kunioka, M
• Funabashi, M
• [+] on Google Scholar
• Calabia, BP.
• Ninomiya, F
• Yagi, H
• Oishi, A
• Taguchi, K
• Kunioka, M
• Funabashi, M
• [+] on PubMed
• Calabia, BP.
• Ninomiya, F
• Yagi, H
• Oishi, A
• Taguchi, K
• Kunioka, M
• Funabashi, M

•  CiteULike
•  Facebook
•  Mendeley
•  Twitter

This article is

• freely available
• re-usable

Polymers 2013, 5(1), 128-141; doi:10.3390/polym5010128

Article

Biodegradable Poly(butylene succinate) Composites Reinforced by Cotton Fiber with Silane Coupling Agent

Buenaventurada P. Calabia, Fumi Ninomiya, Hisaaki Yagi, Akihiro Oishi, Kazuhiro Taguchi, Masao Kunioka and Masahiro Funabashi*

National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Higashi 1-1-1 Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8565, Japan

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received: 14 November 2012; in revised form: 8 January 2013 / Accepted: 24 January 2013 / Published: 29 January 2013

Download PDF Full-Text [1526 KB, uploaded 29 January 2013 11:44 CET]

Abstract: In this study, the use of cotton fiber (CF) as a filler in poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) and the effect of silane treatment on the mechanical properties, thermal stability, and biodegradability of PBS/CF composites are investigated. The results showed that the tensile strength of PBS was improved (15%–78%) with the incorporation of CF (10–40 wt%) and was further increased (25%–118%) when CF was treated with a silane coupling agent. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation of the fracture surfaces of PBS/CF composites showed that there was slight improvement in fiber-matrix compatibility. Thermogravimetric (TG) analysis showed that the thermal stability of the composites was lower than that of neat PBS and decreased with increasing filler loading. The biobased carbon content of the composites increased with increasing CF content. The incorporation of CF (with and without silane treatment) in PBS significantly increased the biodegradation rate of the composites.

Keywords: cotton fiber; composites; poly(butylene succinate); silane coupling agent

Article Statistics

Cite This Article