Preparation and characterization of short date palm mat (DPM) fiber reinforced polystyrene composites: Effect of gamma radiation

Most Afroza Khatun; Shahin Sultana; Mohammad Shahriar Kabir; Md Sahadat Hossain; Husna Parvin Nur; A M Sarwaruddin Chowdhury

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e21373

Preparation and characterization of short date palm mat (DPM) fiber reinforced polystyrene composites: Effect of gamma radiation

Heliyon. 2023 Oct 21;9(11):e21373. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e21373. eCollection 2023 Nov.

Authors

Most Afroza Khatun^{1

2}, Shahin Sultana³, Mohammad Shahriar Kabir⁴, Md Sahadat Hossain⁵, Husna Parvin Nur³, A M Sarwaruddin Chowdhury¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh.
² Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Jashore University of Science and Technology, Jashore, Bangladesh.
³ Fiber and Polymer Research Division, BCSIR Laboratories Dhaka, Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR), Dhanmondi, Dhaka, 1205, Bangladesh.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, Primeasia University, Bananai, Dhaka, 1213, Bangladesh.
⁵ Glass Research Division, Institute of Glass and Ceramics Research and Testing (IGCRT), Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR), Dhaka, 1205, Bangladesh.

Abstract

The utilization of natural fiber reinforced polymer composites is growing fast in numerous sectors. In this study, the effect of the addition of short date palm mat (DPM) fibers in polystyrene matrix on the physico-mechanical and thermal properties were studied. Short DPM fiber reinforced polystyrene composites were produced by compression moulding process and the fiber content was 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 wt%. Physico-mechanical and thermal properties were examined. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) analysis of the composites were also done. The findings from the investigates exposed that the composites with 10 % fiber content showed improved mechanical and thermal characteristics as compared to other composites. The morphological analysis also supported the results where good interfacial bonding among fiber and polystyrene matrix was found for the composites with 10 % fiber content. The optimized (10 % fiber content) composites were exposed to gamma radiation (2.5-7.5 kGy) and the best result was found at 5.0 kGy radiation dose. Degradation of gamma irradiated composites was conducted in four different media such as water, acid, base, and brine.

Keywords: Date palm mat fiber; Gamma radiation; Mechanical properties; Polystyrene.