Enhancement of mechanical, thermal and water uptake performance of TPU/jute fiber green composites via chemical treatments on fiber surface

Chopped jute fiber (JF) surfaces were modified using alkaline, silane and eco-grade epoxy resin. Surface characteristics of jute fibers were confirmed by FTIR and EDX analyses. JF filled polyurethane elastomer (TPU) composites were prepared via extrusion process. The effect of surface modifications of JF on mechanical, thermo-mechanical, melt-flow, water uptake and morphological properties of TPU-based eco-composites were investigated by tensile and hardness tests, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), melt flow index (MFI) test, water absorption measurements and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques, respectively. Mechanical test results showed that silane and epoxy treated JF additions led to increase in tensile strength, modulus and hardness of TPU. Glass transition temperature (Tg) of TPU rose up to higher values after JF inclusions regardless of treatment type. Si-JF filled TPU exhibited the lowest water absorption among composites. Surface treated JFs displayed homogeneous dispersion into TPU and their surface were covered by TPU according to SEM micro-photographs.