Fabrication and characterization of cow dung- Polyvinyl Alcohol composite film

A novel polymer composite film of cow dung fibers (soaked in 5% NaOH solution) and Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) was fabricated. The thermal and mechanical properties of the fabricated film were determined using standard methods. It was observed that flexural, tensile strength and hardness of the composite film were the maximum when 5-7% of cow dung fiber was mixed; further increasing the cow dung proportion gradually degraded the strength and hardness. It was also observed that increasing the cow dung fiber quantity decreases the thermal conductivity of the composite film. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) micrographs, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) revealed a good correlation between morphology and property variations of the composite film. The SEM micrographs, FTIR and XRD also revealed that the alkali treated cow-dung-fiber-composite (CDFC) film was having increased bounding and reduced fiber pullout resulting superior mechanical properties. The work suggests one of the suitable use for the large volume of cow dung produced throughout the globe.