EFFECT OF TRIMETHYLOLPROPANE TRIACRYLATE (TMPTA) ON THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF PALM FIBER EMPTY FRUIT BUNCH AND CELLULOSE FIBER BIOCOMPOSITE

The effect of trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA) as a coupling agent, onthe mechanical and morphological properties of the PP-cellulose (derived fromoil palm empty fruit bunch fiber) and PP-oil palm empty fruit bunch fiber(EFBF) biocomposites has been studied. The ratio of PP:cellulose and PP:EFBFis fixed to 70:30 (wt/wt%) while the concentration of the coupling agent isvaried from 2.0 to 7.0 wt%. Results reveal that at 2.0 wt% of TMPTAconcentration, tensile strength, flexural modulus, impact strength and Rockwellhardness of PP-cellulose biocomposite are significantly improved. Theenhancement of mechanical properties in the presence of TMPTA is believed tobe attributed to crosslinking of multifunctional monomer with the hydroxylgroups of cellulose resulting in better adhesion and superior PP-cellulosebiocomposite properties. However, there are no significant changes observed inthe PP-EFBF biocomposite properties upon the addition of TMPTA.