Morphological, Mechanical and Thermal Characteristics of PLA /Cocos nucifera L Husk and PLA/Zea mays Chaff Lignin Fibre Mats Composites

Abstract

Polylactide (PLA) is a biodegradable polymer with low elongation which limits its use in some applications. The incorporation of biowaste  particles has been employed to improve its properties. This work thus examines the impact of lignin particles reinforced on electrospun  PLA fibre mats. Acid hydrolysis (1M of HCl at 60 and 100 oC for 2 and 4 h was used to extract lignin from Cocos nucifera L (CNHL) and Zea  Mays Chaff (CCL). Lignin particles were added to molten PLA, stirred, and electrospun at 26 kV, using a static aluminum collector plate placed at 121mm from the spinneret tip. Morphological examination reveals that fibre diameter of neat PLA (9.7 µm) increased from 107  – 285 % with the additions of reinforcements. Maximum tensile strength of 1.03 MPa is recorded for PLA/CNHL 60oC /2 h. This composite  maintains the highest elongation of 0.069 % compared to neat PLA (0.046 %). X-Ray diffractometer (XRD) result informs that the  crystallinity of neat PLA (67.6 %) improves by 3%, with the use of CNHL 60 oC/ 2 h. Thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) result shows that  both fibre composites possess better thermal stability (380 oC) compared to reinforcing PLA fibre (319 oC).