Sains Malaysiana 44(11)(2015): 1551–1559

Preparation of Durian Skin Nanofibre (DSNF) and Its Effect on the Properties of Polylactic Acid (PLA) Biocomposites

(Penyediaan Nano-serabut Kulit Durian (DSNF) dan Kesannya ke atas Sifat Biokomposit Asid Polilaktik (PLA))

M.N. NUR AIMI¹*, H. ANUAR¹, M. MAIZIRWAN², S.M. SAPUAN³, M.U. WAHIT⁴

& S. ZAKARIA⁵

¹Department of Manufacturing and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, International Islamic University Malaysia, P.O. Box 10, 50728 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia

²Department of Biotechnology Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, International Islamic University Malaysia, P.O. Box 10, 50728 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia

³Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia

43400 Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

⁴Center for Composites, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Skudai, Johor Darul Takzim, Malaysia

⁵Materials Science Programme, School of Applied Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

Received: 28 March 2015/Accepted: 22 June 2015

ABSTRACT

Biological fermentation of Rhizopus oryzae was introduced to extract cellulose nanofibre from durian skin fibre (DSF). The diameter of the extracted durian skin nanofibre (DSNF) was in the range of 49-81 nm. The changes of chemical composition of DSNF were clearly seen after evaluated via TAPPI standard test methods. Verification via Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) confirmed the deduction of hemicelluloses and lignin in DSNF in the range of 1200 to 1000 cm-1. X-ray diffraction (XRD) demonstrated increment in the crystallinity from 58.3 to 72.2% after biological fermentation. DSNF was then incorporated into polylactic acid (PLA) via extrusion and injection moulding processes. The effect of 1-5 wt. % DSNF content on PLA biocomposites was investigated for its mechanical and thermal properties. The presence of only 1 wt. % improved the tensile and impact strength by 14.1 MPa and 33.1 kJ/m², respectively. The thermal properties of PLA-1DSNF biocomposite also recorded higher thermal stability, glass transition temperature (Tg), crystallization temperature (T_c) and melting temperature (T_m). Additionally, from the DMA, it was determined that PLA-1DSNF possessed lower storage modulus and loss modulus, as well as low energy dissipation.

Keywords: Biocomposites; durian skin fibre; durian skin nanofiber; polylactic acid

ABSTRAK

Fermentasi biologi Rhizopus oryzae telah diperkenalkan bagi mengekstrak nano-serabut selulosa daripada serabut kulit durian (DSF). Diameter nano-serabut kulit durian (DSNF) adalah dalam julat 49-81 nm. Ujian piawaian kaedah TAPPI menunjukkan perubahan komposisi kimia DSNF. Pengesahan melalui transformasi Fourier inframerah (FTIR) menunjukkan pengurangan hemiselulosa dan lignin sekitar 1200 hingga 1000 cm^-1. Pembelauan sinar-X (XRD) menunjukkan peningkatan hablur daripada 58.3 kepada 72.2% selepas fermentasi biologi. Seterusnya, DSNF telah ditambahkan kepada asid polilaktik (PLA) melalui pemprosesan secara penyemperitan dan pengacuanan suntikan. Kesan kemasukan DSNF daripada 1-5 wt. % ke atas sifat mekanik dan terma biokomposit PLA telah dikaji. Kehadiran DSNF serendah 1 wt. % memperbaiki kekuatan regangan dan hentaman, masing-masing sebanyak 14.1 MPa dan 33.1 kJ/m². Sifat terma bio komposit PLA-1DSNF juga merekodkan kestabilan terma, suhu peralihan kaca (T_g), suhu penghabluran (T_c) dan suhu peleburan (T_m) yang lebih tinggi. Analisis daripada DMA menunjukkan PLA-1DSNF mempunyai modulus simpanan dan kehilangan yang lebih rendah, juga kehilangan tenaga yang rendah.

Kata kunci: Asid polilaktik; biokomposit; nano-serabut kulit durian; serabut kulit durian

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*Corresponding author; email: aimi_nasir@ymail.com