Fabrication and characterization of bionanocomposites based on poly (lactic acid), banana fiber and nanoclay

This research work aims to study the effect of banana fiber and C30B nanoclay on the mechanical, thermal and morphological properties of the biocomposite of polylactic acid (PLA). The banana fibers were subjected to mercerization and silane treatment prior to better interface bonded composite fabrication. The morphology, mechanical properties and thermal stability of the silane treated banana fiber (SiB) was improved over those of untreated fibers (UTB). Silane treated banana fiber and nanoclay reinforced PLA bionanocomposite with tuneable properties was successfully prepared by melt blending followed by injection moulding. The mechanical and thermal properties have been studied to observe the effect of the nanoclay on PLA/banana fiber biocomposites. The bionanocomposite with 3 wt.% of nanoclay possessed the highest mechanical and thermal properties. Additionally the composites were subjected to the scanning electron micrograph (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to demonstrate the interfacial bonding between filler and matrix. As evident from the result of SEM and TEM for biocomposites, the interfacial adhesion between fibers and matrix significantly increased with the addition of SiB and C30B nanoclay.