Influence of Different Sugar Palm Fiber Content on the Tensile, Flexural, Impact, and Physicochemical Properties of Eco-Friendly Thermoplastic Polyurethane

Abstract

This work is focused on the study of mechanical and physicochemical properties of an innovative and environmentally friendly composite material based on different sugar palm fiber (SPF) loadings (10–30 wt %) with thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). A two-step technique was used (extrusion of TPU with SPF fibers at 190°C; rotational velocity of 40 rpm, followed by hot press 190°C for 10 min) to obtain the composites. The size of SPF was fixed at 250 µm, and different weight percentages (10, 20, and 30 wt %) of SPF were added in TPU to find the optimum composition. The mechanical (impact, tensile, and flexural) properties of the new (TPU/SPF) composite were studied as per ASTM standards. The Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), and the X-ray Diffraction (XRD) were employed for structure and morphology study of TPU/SPF composites. The results proved that best tensile strength (14 MPa) and strain performance is shown with 10 wt %, while at 20 wt % exhibited maximum impact property. An increasing trend was recorded in flexural properties and tensile modulus with the increasing fiber loading. On the other hand, strain deteriorated with increment of fiber content.