Effect of zinc oxide surface treatment concentration and nanofiller loading on the flexural properties of unsaturated polyester/kenaf nanocomposites

Mohammed Mohammed; Jawad K Oleiwi; Anwar Ja'afar Mohamad Jawad; Aeshah M Mohammed; Azlin F Osman; Rozyanty Rahman; Tijjani Adam; Bashir O Betar; Subash C B Gopinath; Omar S Dahham

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e20051

Effect of zinc oxide surface treatment concentration and nanofiller loading on the flexural properties of unsaturated polyester/kenaf nanocomposites

Heliyon. 2023 Sep 11;9(9):e20051. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e20051. eCollection 2023 Sep.

Authors

Mohammed Mohammed^{1

2}, Jawad K Oleiwi³, Anwar Ja'afar Mohamad Jawad⁴, Aeshah M Mohammed⁵, Azlin F Osman^{1

2}, Rozyanty Rahman^{1

2}, Tijjani Adam⁶, Bashir O Betar⁷, Subash C B Gopinath^{2

8}, Omar S Dahham^{9

10}

Affiliations

¹ Center of Excellence Geopolymer & Green Technology (CEGeoGTech), Universiti Malaysia Perlis, 02600 Arau, Perlis, Malaysia.
² Faculty of Chemical Engineering Technology, Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Arau 02600, Perlis, Malaysia.
³ Department of Materials Engineering, University of Technology, Baghdad, Iraq.
⁴ Department of Computer Techniques Engineering, Al-Rafidain University College، Baghdad 10001, Iraq.
⁵ University of Bagdad College of Education for Pure Science Ibn-Alhaitham, Iraq.
⁶ Faculty of Electronics Engineering Technology, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Kampus Uniciti Alam Sg. Chuchuh, 02100 Padang Besar (U), Perlis, Malaysia.
⁷ Research Center (NANOCAT), University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia.
⁸ Institute of Nano Electronic Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Perlis, Malaysia.
⁹ Chemical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, University of Baghdad, Iraq.
¹⁰ Department of Petroleum and Gas Refinery Engineering, Al-Farabi University College, Baghdad, Iraq.

Abstract

Due to environmental concerns and budgetary constraints associated with synthetic fibers, natural fibers (NFr) are becoming increasingly popular as reinforcement in polymer composites (PCs) for structural components and construction materials. The surface treatment (ST) method is a well-established technique for enhancing the strength of interfacial bonding between NFr and the polymer matrix (PM). As a result, this research aims to determine the effect of ST with zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) on the flexural properties of unsaturated polyester (UPE)/kenaf fiber (KF) nanocomposites. The hand lay-up technique was employed to produce KF-reinforced unsaturated polyester composites (KF/UPE) for this investigation. UPE/KF-ZnONPs composites were made with varying NFr loadings (weight percent), ranging from 10 to 40%. KF was treated with five distinct amounts of ZnONPs (from 1 to 5% weight percent). According to the findings of the investigation, the composite samples incorporating ZnONPs displayed superior optimum flexural properties compared to the untreated KF composite. It was found that 2% ZnONPs was optimal, and ST with ZnONPs could produce robust KF with improved flexural properties.

Keywords: Nanohybrid; Nanomaterial; Natural fiber; Surface enhancement.