Mechanical Properties and Water Absorption Behavior of Polypropylene / Ijuk Fiber Composite by Using Silane Treatment

The rising concern towards environmental issues besides the need for more versatile polymer-based materials has led to increasing of interest in studying about the polymer composites filled with natural-organic fillers, which are coming from renewable sources. However, the bonds between polymeric materials and the organic fillers are not strong enough, by referring to mechanical properties. This study intends to the improvement in mechanical properties of polypropylene/ijuk fiber composite by pretreating the fiber using silane treatment. Vinyltrimethoxy silane was used for this silane treatment using immersion technique. Composites with 10wt%, 20wt%, and 30wt% fiber content were fabricated afterwards. The samples were tensile tested and the strength, modulus, and elongation were determined. The composite's water absorption was also tested. As the result, the silane treatment helps increasing the mechanical properties and decreasing the percentage of water absorption of the composites.