Norhayani Othman | Universiti Teknologi Malaysia - UTM (original) (raw)

Papers by Norhayani Othman

Journal of Elastomers & Plastics

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of polyethylenimine (PEI) on the properties ... more The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of polyethylenimine (PEI) on the properties of emulsion styrene butadiene rubber (ESBR)/butadiene rubber (BR) blends. PEI with molecular weight (Mw) of 800, 2,000, 25,000, and 270,000 g/mol with various ratios was successfully incorporated into ESBR/BR blends via rubber compounding method. Study showed almost 100% decrease in scorch time, ts2 in lower Mw PEI (800 and 2000 g/mol), compared to higher Mw PEI (25,000 and 270,000 g/mol) in ESBR/BR blends. PEI incorporated ESBR/BR blends showed an overall improvement in terms of tensile strength. Lower Mw PEI induced better tensile strength with an optimum value at 1.22 MPa, while higher Mw PEI induced better tear strength and self-healing ability. Incorporation of 5 phr PEI 270,000 g/mol in the blend successfully achieved the optimum self-healing efficiency of 71.5% at 160°C for 1 h. Phase separation occurred between higher Mw viscous PEI with rubber matrix at crack region to promote t...

Key Engineering Materials, 2022

Generally, only a few especially acrylic monomers have photoabsorption characteristics to allow f... more Generally, only a few especially acrylic monomers have photoabsorption characteristics to allow for effective stereolithography (STL) to take place. Biomaterial product from palm oil, Acrylated Palm Olein (APO), is seen as an ideal alternative to petroleum-based polymers due the diminishing petrochemical supply and abundant of the natural polymer in the market. In this study, APO as a biopolymer is introduced to synthetic polymers Polyethylene Glycol Dimethylacrylate (PEGDMA) and Polyethylene Glycol Diacrylate (PEGDA), separately. All three polymers offer photoabsorption characteristics that enable them to be the resins for ultraviolet (UV) 3D printing. The crosslinking of both copolymers is optimized by comparing two different UV radiation techniques; UV cured machine and UV STL 3D printer. The degree of crosslinking for both APO-co-PEGDMA and APO-co-PEGDA through gel fraction analysis are studied and compared with their prepolymer resins. As predicted, the maximum degree of crossl...

The crystallization behaviour of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) induced by two kinds of nucleating... more The crystallization behaviour of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) induced by two kinds of nucleating agents which are Boron Nitride (BN) and Halloysite nanotubes (HNT) was investigated using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). PHB composites with 2, 4, 6, 8 wt% of BN and HNT were prepared by melt mixing. Presence of 8wt% BN in PHB significantly enhanced the melting temperature (Tm) and also accelerates the crystallization temperature (Tc) of PHB. Meanwhile, addition of more than 2wt% of HNT reduced the Tc thus crystallization of PHB/HNT composites. Even, the crystallization of composites with 8wt% HNT is slower than 8wt% BN but still faster than pure PHB. The degree of crystallinity (Xc) also was calculated from the DSC results.

Journal of Materials Science, 2020

Wollastonite has a huge potential to be utilized as a functional filler in the thermoplastic comp... more Wollastonite has a huge potential to be utilized as a functional filler in the thermoplastic composites, providing an enhancement to the mechanical strength, as well as thermal stability and flame retardancy, thus replacing the other conventional fillers such as glass fibre and talc. Due to the reinforcing ability and good thermal stability of wollastonite, the wollastonite-filled polymer composites have attracted the attention of academicians and industrialists. Many studies are reported on the effect of wollastonite incorporation into the polymers, in the aspect of mechanical, thermal, and flammability properties, meanwhile exploring the potential of wollastonite usage in the desired applications. This review article will be focusing on the thermal and flammability properties of wollastonite-filled thermoplastic composites. The popular thermoplastics used as the matrix are polypropylene, polylactic acid, and poly(ethylene terephthalate). Studies on flammability properties of wollastonite-filled thermoplastic composites are relatively less compared to thermal properties. Generally, the properties of the composites are influenced by the wollastonite dispersion, loading, size and shape of wollastonite, and its interfacial adhesion with the polymer matrix. Most of the previous studies focused on thermoplastic filled natural micro-sized wollastonite composites. Thus, the effect of nano-sized synthetic wollastonite as a functional filler in polymers is worth investigating. Further research on hybrid wollastonite/nanofillers is also interesting to develop high-performance materials to meet the requirements of society and industries.

Polymer Journal, 2006

Rubber toughened polyamide 6/polypropylene (PA6/PP) nanocomposites containing 4 wt % of organophi... more Rubber toughened polyamide 6/polypropylene (PA6/PP) nanocomposites containing 4 wt % of organophilic modified montmorilonite (OMMT) were produced by melt compounding followed by injection moulding. Four different types of elastomer were incorporated into the blends as a toughener, i.e., ethylene-octene elastomer (POE), ethylene-propylene elastomer (EPR), maleated POE (POEgMAH) and maleated EPR (EPRgMAH). The influences of maleating on the interfacial adhesion and mechanical properties of the nanocomposites were investigated in term of mechanical testing, the X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation. The results showed that modulus and strength of the nanocomposites was not significantly affected by types of elastomer and their functionality. However, the toughness of the nanocomposites toughened by maleated elastomer was higher than the unmaleated elastomer. The SEM observation revealed that rubber functionality reduces the elastomer particle size in the PA6/PP matrix due to the in situ formation of graft copolymer between maleated elastomer and PA6 during melt processing. XRD revealed that the type of elastomer and functionality did not affect the dispersion of the organoclay in the system.

Macromolecular Symposia, 2006

A seiies of polyamide 6 / poltpopylene @A6,4P) blends cotrtaidllg 4 q4% of organophiuc modified m... more A seiies of polyamide 6 / poltpopylene @A6,4P) blends cotrtaidllg 4 q4% of organophiuc modified morftrorillonite (vnd) were designed and Fepared by melt corqouding folowed by itjeotion mouiding. Maleic aniydride polyethyletre octene elastomer (POE-g-MA) was used as irqact modifle! as wefl as compatibilizer i! the blend sysiem. ?hrce weighi ratios ofPA6PP blends were prepared i.e. 80/20, ?0/30, and 60/40. The mechanical properties of PA6/PP blends atrd narocomposite rvere studied though) flexural and impact propertics. Scinning electron microscopy (SXN4) was used to study the midostructure. The incorporation of 10*,1!l POE-g-MA into PA6DP biends siSnificar y inffeased the tougbness with a corresponding rcduciion in stsengtl aDd stiffDess. However, on fiuther addition of4 819/d organoclay, the sirength and moddus iDcreased but with a sacdfice in irnpact strength. lt was also fo!!d that the mechadcal properties are a ffmction of blend propedies. Interestitrg, 70/30 PA6IPP blend ratio has tle opitruft impact sfength values fo! both bl€nds and narccofiiposit€s. The morphological study !€vealed that POE-g pa,-ticles were firlely dbpersed in the PA6 dominrnt bletrds systelD-Key wotrls: polyamide 6/polypropylene blends, polyethylene octene elastome!, mechanical prcperlies. nanocomposites. tou ghened pol)fi ers ')

International Journal of Polymeric Materials, 2007

PA6/PP nanocomposites with either polyethylene octene elastomer grafted maleic anhydride (POEgMAH... more PA6/PP nanocomposites with either polyethylene octene elastomer grafted maleic anhydride (POEgMAH) or PP grafted maleic anhydride (PPgMAH) as compatibilizer were prepared using co-rotating twin-screw extruder followed by injection molding. The mechanical and microstructural properties of the composites were investigated by means of tensile, flexural, and impact testing and by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to characterize the formation of nanocomposites. The result ...

Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety

Journal of Engineered Fibers and Fabrics

Recently development of high-performance polymer composites made from natural resources in the va... more Recently development of high-performance polymer composites made from natural resources in the various sectors is increasing tremendously due to the environmental issues and health hazard possessed by the synthetic fibers during disposal and manufacturing. Among the many different types of natural resources, kenaf fibers have been extensively investigated as an alternative reinforcement for polymer composites over the past few years due to their low cost, good mechanical properties, high specific strength, nonabrasive, eco-friendly, and biodegradability characteristics. Kenaf is regarded as an industrial crop in Malaysia and grown commercially in other parts of the world for different applications. It is certainly one of the important plants cultivated for natural fibers globally which has great potential to use as automotive and construction materials. In many research studies, kenaf fibers have been used as reinforcement in unsaturated polyester (UPE) which perfectly improved the ...

Chemical engineering transactions, 2020

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) has become one of the most major post-consumer plastic waste, ... more Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) has become one of the most major post-consumer plastic waste, in addition to poly(ethylene), poly(propylene), poly(styrene) and poly(vinyl chloride). PET bottles are mostly used in packaging of drinking and mineral water as well as soft drinks. This review demonstrates the potential of PET waste as a value added product in dyes adsorption application. Dyes are known to affect human health, aquatic life and the overall ecosystem in adverse way. They need to be removed from wastewater, hence the technologies utilized for such removal are widely investigated. The review presents the different preparation techniques to produce adsorbent from PET waste. Besides that, it discusses the adsorption capacities among the PET adsorbents prepared. Based on the review, it can be concluded that activated carbon produced from PET waste has the potential to be an effective adsorbent for dye adsorption.

Chemical engineering transactions, 2018

Natural rubber toughened by polylactic acid/graphene (PLA/NR/GR) biocomposite was prepared by two... more Natural rubber toughened by polylactic acid/graphene (PLA/NR/GR) biocomposite was prepared by two different processes known as the in-situ melt mixing process (conventional) and the integration of latex compounding masterbatch and melt mixing process. These two processes were employed to compare the state of graphene dispersion and distribution in the biocomposite. Good dispersion and distribution of nanographene is a key factor that can enhance or change the properties of the nanocomposite. The objectives of this work are to evaluate the effect of different processes and graphene content on the mechanical, and morphological of PLA/NR/GR biocomposites. The composition of PLA/NR blend was fixed at 80/20 wt% and the graphene content was varied from 0.1 - 0.4 parts per hundred (phr). The integration process produced the PLA/NR/GR nanocomposite with better mechanical properties compared with the conventional process due to a better state of GR dispersion in the nanocomposite. The tensil...

Chemical engineering transactions, 2021

Poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-valerate) (PHBV), a biodegradable thermoplastic polymer, has attracted mu... more Poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-valerate) (PHBV), a biodegradable thermoplastic polymer, has attracted much attention because of increasing interest in protection of environment. PHBV is brittle, thus has restricted application. Improvement of its toughness has been attempted by blending poly (caprolactone (PCL). In this study, PCL helps in improving elongation at break and impact properties of PHBV. PHBV/PCL blends were blended using internal mixer. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to determine the thermal properties of the blends and tensile and impact test for the mechanical test of the blends. There are two melting peaks shown in the DSC data of PHBV/PCL due to melting of PHBV and PCL. 60/40 ratio of PHBV/PCL was chosen as the optimum composition as it showed the highest elongation at break with 4.2 % improvement compared to pure PHBV. This blend ratio also has the lowest melting temperature of PHBV among ratio studied. Although the properties of PHBV/PCL blends were bet...

Chemical engineering transactions, 2021

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a semi-crystalline material that is widely used in the packag... more Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a semi-crystalline material that is widely used in the packaging industry, mainly in the production of bottles for beverages. Similar to other plastics, PET causes a problem in disposal as it remains in the environment for a long time. Most of the bottles are thrown away after a single usage, which worsens the disposal problem. Recycling is one of the best ways to reduce the problem of disposal. However, recycling reduces the mechanical and chemical properties of the PET. Factors such as moisture absorption, biological pollutants, oxidation, high temperature, and thermal degradation have reduced the molecular weight of PET. To improve the properties, recycled PET had been blended with Polyamide 11 (PA11) at different ratios of PET: PA11, 30:70, 50:50, and 70:30. A modified styrene/acrylic/epoxy chain extender (Joncryl) was added at 1 wt % in the blend to enhance the properties. The properties of recycled PET/PA11 blends were investigated in terms ...

In this project, the composites of polypropylene (PP)/dolomite were prepared via extrusion and in... more In this project, the composites of polypropylene (PP)/dolomite were prepared via extrusion and injection moulding. Dolomite mineral was used as reinforcement in PP matrix. PP reinforced dolomite composites with various concentrations of dolomite (5, 10 and 15 wt%) were characterized by mechanical properties through tensile, impact and flexural test, morphological analysis by scanning electron microscope (SEM), thermal analysis by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and flammability analysis by the limiting oxygen index (LOI). The incorporation of dolomite into PP had improved Young's modulus while flexural modulus, tensile, flexural and impact strengths were decreased. The incorporation of dolomite up to 15 wt% increased the stiffness of the composites in tensile mode while in three point bending mode, 10 wt% dolomite was the optimum concentration. Tensile and flexural strength showed a slight reduction in the values while impact strength was continuously decreased with the ...

Blends of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and polycarbonate (PC) were prepared in different ra... more Blends of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and polycarbonate (PC) were prepared in different ratios by melt blending technique. The process was carried out through a twin extruder followed by injection molding. The morphological and chemical resistance of the PET/PC blends were studied. The scanning electron microscopy showed that the interfacial adhesion for 70PET/30PC blends has improved as indicated by the partial miscibility between the PET and PC. The chemical resistance of PET/PC blends to acetone increased with increasing PET content.

Chemical engineering transactions, 2019

Poly(hydroxyl-3-butyrate) (PHB) has a great potential in many applications due to its biodegradab... more Poly(hydroxyl-3-butyrate) (PHB) has a great potential in many applications due to its biodegradable and biocompatible properties. However, PHB is considered as a stiff material since it has high brittleness and narrow processing windows which limit the use of PHB. In order to improve the brittleness of PHB, poly(ethylene-octene) grafted maleic anhydride elastomer (POEgMA) and liquid epoxidized natural rubber (LENR) were incorporated into PHB using internal mixer. The blends were melt blended at temperature of 165 °C and rotor speed of 60 rpm for 8 min. The concentration of POEgMA and LENR were varied from 5, 10, 15 and 20 wt%. The mechanical and morphological properties were determined using tensile testing, Izod impact testing and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Addition of 5 wt% POEgMA decreased the elongation at break and impact strength of PHB. The tensile strength and tensile modulus showed no significant changes with increasing amount of elastomers added to the blends. SEM...

Rubber toughened nanocomposites consisting of ternary blends of polyamide 6 (PA 6), maleic anhydr... more Rubber toughened nanocomposites consisting of ternary blends of polyamide 6 (PA 6), maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene octene (POEgMAH) and organoclay montmorillonite (MMT) were prepared by melt compounding followed by injection moulding. The organoclay content was kept constant at 4 wt% while the POEgMAH content was varied between 5 to 20 wt%. The mechanical properties were studied through tensile, flexural and impact properties. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to examine the morphology of the nanocomposties. The results showed that, the incorporation of 4 wt% organoclay significantly increased the stiffness and strength but at the expense of the toughness. Izod impact measurement indicated that the addition of POEgMAH led to a significant improvement in the impact strength of the nanocomposites. X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) revealed that an intercalation organoclay silicate layer structure was formed in rubber-toughened PA6 nanoc...

Blends of High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS) with Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene (SBS) have two important ... more Blends of High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS) with Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene (SBS) have two important applications include restoring the impact resistance, which is lost when flame-retardants are mixed into HIPS, and upgrading HIPS to a super high impact product. The purpose of this research is to study the effect of SBS (TR2000) composition on the mechanical properties of HIPS/SBS blends. The measurement of mechanical properties of HIPS/SBS blends has been made at various compositions. Using a single screw extruder, blends of HIPS/SBS with SBS compositions ranging from 0-12 phr were prepared and the specimens for mechanical evaluations were injection-molded. The mechanical test such as tensile test, flexural test, and impact test were carried out. Incorporation of rubbers in the blends increases Izod impact strength. On the other hand, tensile strength and flexural modulus were decrease with increasing the composition of SBS.

The incorporation of nanoclay in polyamide 6 (PA6) may increase the strength and water resistance... more The incorporation of nanoclay in polyamide 6 (PA6) may increase the strength and water resistance of hygroscopic PA6. However impact strength of PA6 was reduced upon the addition of nanoclay. Blends of polyamide 6 nanocomposites (PA6NC) with either unmodified polyethylene octene elastomer (POE) or reactive polyethylene octene elastomer grafted with maleic anhydride (POE-g-MA) were prepared to overcome the brittleness. The blends were prepared using co-rotating twin screw extruder followed by injection molding into tests samples. The results show that the impact strength of PA6NC containing POE-g-MA is significantly higher than samples containing POE. The plausible reason is that of the better compatibility between PA with POE-g-MA compared to POE with PA6 due to formation of POE-g-PA6 copolymer during the melt processing. POE-g-MA also caused in higher tensile strength values compared to when POE is used. The SEM study show that the rubbery disperse phase is smaller when POE-g-MA is...

Stereolithography is a high accuracy additive manufacturing process that uses a laser beam to cur... more Stereolithography is a high accuracy additive manufacturing process that uses a laser beam to cure photopolymer resin according to the computer-aided design file. Anisotropy in mechanical properties is one of the major challenges that are faced by additive manufacturing technologies. This study is conducted on PR 48 photopolymer samples using FORM 2 SLA printer.

Journal of Elastomers & Plastics

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of polyethylenimine (PEI) on the properties ... more The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of polyethylenimine (PEI) on the properties of emulsion styrene butadiene rubber (ESBR)/butadiene rubber (BR) blends. PEI with molecular weight (Mw) of 800, 2,000, 25,000, and 270,000 g/mol with various ratios was successfully incorporated into ESBR/BR blends via rubber compounding method. Study showed almost 100% decrease in scorch time, ts2 in lower Mw PEI (800 and 2000 g/mol), compared to higher Mw PEI (25,000 and 270,000 g/mol) in ESBR/BR blends. PEI incorporated ESBR/BR blends showed an overall improvement in terms of tensile strength. Lower Mw PEI induced better tensile strength with an optimum value at 1.22 MPa, while higher Mw PEI induced better tear strength and self-healing ability. Incorporation of 5 phr PEI 270,000 g/mol in the blend successfully achieved the optimum self-healing efficiency of 71.5% at 160°C for 1 h. Phase separation occurred between higher Mw viscous PEI with rubber matrix at crack region to promote t...

Key Engineering Materials, 2022

Generally, only a few especially acrylic monomers have photoabsorption characteristics to allow f... more Generally, only a few especially acrylic monomers have photoabsorption characteristics to allow for effective stereolithography (STL) to take place. Biomaterial product from palm oil, Acrylated Palm Olein (APO), is seen as an ideal alternative to petroleum-based polymers due the diminishing petrochemical supply and abundant of the natural polymer in the market. In this study, APO as a biopolymer is introduced to synthetic polymers Polyethylene Glycol Dimethylacrylate (PEGDMA) and Polyethylene Glycol Diacrylate (PEGDA), separately. All three polymers offer photoabsorption characteristics that enable them to be the resins for ultraviolet (UV) 3D printing. The crosslinking of both copolymers is optimized by comparing two different UV radiation techniques; UV cured machine and UV STL 3D printer. The degree of crosslinking for both APO-co-PEGDMA and APO-co-PEGDA through gel fraction analysis are studied and compared with their prepolymer resins. As predicted, the maximum degree of crossl...

The crystallization behaviour of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) induced by two kinds of nucleating... more The crystallization behaviour of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) induced by two kinds of nucleating agents which are Boron Nitride (BN) and Halloysite nanotubes (HNT) was investigated using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). PHB composites with 2, 4, 6, 8 wt% of BN and HNT were prepared by melt mixing. Presence of 8wt% BN in PHB significantly enhanced the melting temperature (Tm) and also accelerates the crystallization temperature (Tc) of PHB. Meanwhile, addition of more than 2wt% of HNT reduced the Tc thus crystallization of PHB/HNT composites. Even, the crystallization of composites with 8wt% HNT is slower than 8wt% BN but still faster than pure PHB. The degree of crystallinity (Xc) also was calculated from the DSC results.

Journal of Materials Science, 2020

Wollastonite has a huge potential to be utilized as a functional filler in the thermoplastic comp... more Wollastonite has a huge potential to be utilized as a functional filler in the thermoplastic composites, providing an enhancement to the mechanical strength, as well as thermal stability and flame retardancy, thus replacing the other conventional fillers such as glass fibre and talc. Due to the reinforcing ability and good thermal stability of wollastonite, the wollastonite-filled polymer composites have attracted the attention of academicians and industrialists. Many studies are reported on the effect of wollastonite incorporation into the polymers, in the aspect of mechanical, thermal, and flammability properties, meanwhile exploring the potential of wollastonite usage in the desired applications. This review article will be focusing on the thermal and flammability properties of wollastonite-filled thermoplastic composites. The popular thermoplastics used as the matrix are polypropylene, polylactic acid, and poly(ethylene terephthalate). Studies on flammability properties of wollastonite-filled thermoplastic composites are relatively less compared to thermal properties. Generally, the properties of the composites are influenced by the wollastonite dispersion, loading, size and shape of wollastonite, and its interfacial adhesion with the polymer matrix. Most of the previous studies focused on thermoplastic filled natural micro-sized wollastonite composites. Thus, the effect of nano-sized synthetic wollastonite as a functional filler in polymers is worth investigating. Further research on hybrid wollastonite/nanofillers is also interesting to develop high-performance materials to meet the requirements of society and industries.

Polymer Journal, 2006

Rubber toughened polyamide 6/polypropylene (PA6/PP) nanocomposites containing 4 wt % of organophi... more Rubber toughened polyamide 6/polypropylene (PA6/PP) nanocomposites containing 4 wt % of organophilic modified montmorilonite (OMMT) were produced by melt compounding followed by injection moulding. Four different types of elastomer were incorporated into the blends as a toughener, i.e., ethylene-octene elastomer (POE), ethylene-propylene elastomer (EPR), maleated POE (POEgMAH) and maleated EPR (EPRgMAH). The influences of maleating on the interfacial adhesion and mechanical properties of the nanocomposites were investigated in term of mechanical testing, the X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation. The results showed that modulus and strength of the nanocomposites was not significantly affected by types of elastomer and their functionality. However, the toughness of the nanocomposites toughened by maleated elastomer was higher than the unmaleated elastomer. The SEM observation revealed that rubber functionality reduces the elastomer particle size in the PA6/PP matrix due to the in situ formation of graft copolymer between maleated elastomer and PA6 during melt processing. XRD revealed that the type of elastomer and functionality did not affect the dispersion of the organoclay in the system.

Macromolecular Symposia, 2006

A seiies of polyamide 6 / poltpopylene @A6,4P) blends cotrtaidllg 4 q4% of organophiuc modified m... more A seiies of polyamide 6 / poltpopylene @A6,4P) blends cotrtaidllg 4 q4% of organophiuc modified morftrorillonite (vnd) were designed and Fepared by melt corqouding folowed by itjeotion mouiding. Maleic aniydride polyethyletre octene elastomer (POE-g-MA) was used as irqact modifle! as wefl as compatibilizer i! the blend sysiem. ?hrce weighi ratios ofPA6PP blends were prepared i.e. 80/20, ?0/30, and 60/40. The mechanical properties of PA6/PP blends atrd narocomposite rvere studied though) flexural and impact propertics. Scinning electron microscopy (SXN4) was used to study the midostructure. The incorporation of 10*,1!l POE-g-MA into PA6DP biends siSnificar y inffeased the tougbness with a corresponding rcduciion in stsengtl aDd stiffDess. However, on fiuther addition of4 819/d organoclay, the sirength and moddus iDcreased but with a sacdfice in irnpact strength. lt was also fo!!d that the mechadcal properties are a ffmction of blend propedies. Interestitrg, 70/30 PA6IPP blend ratio has tle opitruft impact sfength values fo! both bl€nds and narccofiiposit€s. The morphological study !€vealed that POE-g pa,-ticles were firlely dbpersed in the PA6 dominrnt bletrds systelD-Key wotrls: polyamide 6/polypropylene blends, polyethylene octene elastome!, mechanical prcperlies. nanocomposites. tou ghened pol)fi ers ')

International Journal of Polymeric Materials, 2007

PA6/PP nanocomposites with either polyethylene octene elastomer grafted maleic anhydride (POEgMAH... more PA6/PP nanocomposites with either polyethylene octene elastomer grafted maleic anhydride (POEgMAH) or PP grafted maleic anhydride (PPgMAH) as compatibilizer were prepared using co-rotating twin-screw extruder followed by injection molding. The mechanical and microstructural properties of the composites were investigated by means of tensile, flexural, and impact testing and by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to characterize the formation of nanocomposites. The result ...

Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety

Journal of Engineered Fibers and Fabrics

Recently development of high-performance polymer composites made from natural resources in the va... more Recently development of high-performance polymer composites made from natural resources in the various sectors is increasing tremendously due to the environmental issues and health hazard possessed by the synthetic fibers during disposal and manufacturing. Among the many different types of natural resources, kenaf fibers have been extensively investigated as an alternative reinforcement for polymer composites over the past few years due to their low cost, good mechanical properties, high specific strength, nonabrasive, eco-friendly, and biodegradability characteristics. Kenaf is regarded as an industrial crop in Malaysia and grown commercially in other parts of the world for different applications. It is certainly one of the important plants cultivated for natural fibers globally which has great potential to use as automotive and construction materials. In many research studies, kenaf fibers have been used as reinforcement in unsaturated polyester (UPE) which perfectly improved the ...

Chemical engineering transactions, 2020

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) has become one of the most major post-consumer plastic waste, ... more Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) has become one of the most major post-consumer plastic waste, in addition to poly(ethylene), poly(propylene), poly(styrene) and poly(vinyl chloride). PET bottles are mostly used in packaging of drinking and mineral water as well as soft drinks. This review demonstrates the potential of PET waste as a value added product in dyes adsorption application. Dyes are known to affect human health, aquatic life and the overall ecosystem in adverse way. They need to be removed from wastewater, hence the technologies utilized for such removal are widely investigated. The review presents the different preparation techniques to produce adsorbent from PET waste. Besides that, it discusses the adsorption capacities among the PET adsorbents prepared. Based on the review, it can be concluded that activated carbon produced from PET waste has the potential to be an effective adsorbent for dye adsorption.

Chemical engineering transactions, 2018

Natural rubber toughened by polylactic acid/graphene (PLA/NR/GR) biocomposite was prepared by two... more Natural rubber toughened by polylactic acid/graphene (PLA/NR/GR) biocomposite was prepared by two different processes known as the in-situ melt mixing process (conventional) and the integration of latex compounding masterbatch and melt mixing process. These two processes were employed to compare the state of graphene dispersion and distribution in the biocomposite. Good dispersion and distribution of nanographene is a key factor that can enhance or change the properties of the nanocomposite. The objectives of this work are to evaluate the effect of different processes and graphene content on the mechanical, and morphological of PLA/NR/GR biocomposites. The composition of PLA/NR blend was fixed at 80/20 wt% and the graphene content was varied from 0.1 - 0.4 parts per hundred (phr). The integration process produced the PLA/NR/GR nanocomposite with better mechanical properties compared with the conventional process due to a better state of GR dispersion in the nanocomposite. The tensil...

Chemical engineering transactions, 2021

Poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-valerate) (PHBV), a biodegradable thermoplastic polymer, has attracted mu... more Poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-valerate) (PHBV), a biodegradable thermoplastic polymer, has attracted much attention because of increasing interest in protection of environment. PHBV is brittle, thus has restricted application. Improvement of its toughness has been attempted by blending poly (caprolactone (PCL). In this study, PCL helps in improving elongation at break and impact properties of PHBV. PHBV/PCL blends were blended using internal mixer. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to determine the thermal properties of the blends and tensile and impact test for the mechanical test of the blends. There are two melting peaks shown in the DSC data of PHBV/PCL due to melting of PHBV and PCL. 60/40 ratio of PHBV/PCL was chosen as the optimum composition as it showed the highest elongation at break with 4.2 % improvement compared to pure PHBV. This blend ratio also has the lowest melting temperature of PHBV among ratio studied. Although the properties of PHBV/PCL blends were bet...

Chemical engineering transactions, 2021

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a semi-crystalline material that is widely used in the packag... more Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a semi-crystalline material that is widely used in the packaging industry, mainly in the production of bottles for beverages. Similar to other plastics, PET causes a problem in disposal as it remains in the environment for a long time. Most of the bottles are thrown away after a single usage, which worsens the disposal problem. Recycling is one of the best ways to reduce the problem of disposal. However, recycling reduces the mechanical and chemical properties of the PET. Factors such as moisture absorption, biological pollutants, oxidation, high temperature, and thermal degradation have reduced the molecular weight of PET. To improve the properties, recycled PET had been blended with Polyamide 11 (PA11) at different ratios of PET: PA11, 30:70, 50:50, and 70:30. A modified styrene/acrylic/epoxy chain extender (Joncryl) was added at 1 wt % in the blend to enhance the properties. The properties of recycled PET/PA11 blends were investigated in terms ...

In this project, the composites of polypropylene (PP)/dolomite were prepared via extrusion and in... more In this project, the composites of polypropylene (PP)/dolomite were prepared via extrusion and injection moulding. Dolomite mineral was used as reinforcement in PP matrix. PP reinforced dolomite composites with various concentrations of dolomite (5, 10 and 15 wt%) were characterized by mechanical properties through tensile, impact and flexural test, morphological analysis by scanning electron microscope (SEM), thermal analysis by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and flammability analysis by the limiting oxygen index (LOI). The incorporation of dolomite into PP had improved Young's modulus while flexural modulus, tensile, flexural and impact strengths were decreased. The incorporation of dolomite up to 15 wt% increased the stiffness of the composites in tensile mode while in three point bending mode, 10 wt% dolomite was the optimum concentration. Tensile and flexural strength showed a slight reduction in the values while impact strength was continuously decreased with the ...

Blends of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and polycarbonate (PC) were prepared in different ra... more Blends of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and polycarbonate (PC) were prepared in different ratios by melt blending technique. The process was carried out through a twin extruder followed by injection molding. The morphological and chemical resistance of the PET/PC blends were studied. The scanning electron microscopy showed that the interfacial adhesion for 70PET/30PC blends has improved as indicated by the partial miscibility between the PET and PC. The chemical resistance of PET/PC blends to acetone increased with increasing PET content.

Chemical engineering transactions, 2019

Poly(hydroxyl-3-butyrate) (PHB) has a great potential in many applications due to its biodegradab... more Poly(hydroxyl-3-butyrate) (PHB) has a great potential in many applications due to its biodegradable and biocompatible properties. However, PHB is considered as a stiff material since it has high brittleness and narrow processing windows which limit the use of PHB. In order to improve the brittleness of PHB, poly(ethylene-octene) grafted maleic anhydride elastomer (POEgMA) and liquid epoxidized natural rubber (LENR) were incorporated into PHB using internal mixer. The blends were melt blended at temperature of 165 °C and rotor speed of 60 rpm for 8 min. The concentration of POEgMA and LENR were varied from 5, 10, 15 and 20 wt%. The mechanical and morphological properties were determined using tensile testing, Izod impact testing and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Addition of 5 wt% POEgMA decreased the elongation at break and impact strength of PHB. The tensile strength and tensile modulus showed no significant changes with increasing amount of elastomers added to the blends. SEM...

Rubber toughened nanocomposites consisting of ternary blends of polyamide 6 (PA 6), maleic anhydr... more Rubber toughened nanocomposites consisting of ternary blends of polyamide 6 (PA 6), maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene octene (POEgMAH) and organoclay montmorillonite (MMT) were prepared by melt compounding followed by injection moulding. The organoclay content was kept constant at 4 wt% while the POEgMAH content was varied between 5 to 20 wt%. The mechanical properties were studied through tensile, flexural and impact properties. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to examine the morphology of the nanocomposties. The results showed that, the incorporation of 4 wt% organoclay significantly increased the stiffness and strength but at the expense of the toughness. Izod impact measurement indicated that the addition of POEgMAH led to a significant improvement in the impact strength of the nanocomposites. X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) revealed that an intercalation organoclay silicate layer structure was formed in rubber-toughened PA6 nanoc...

Blends of High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS) with Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene (SBS) have two important ... more Blends of High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS) with Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene (SBS) have two important applications include restoring the impact resistance, which is lost when flame-retardants are mixed into HIPS, and upgrading HIPS to a super high impact product. The purpose of this research is to study the effect of SBS (TR2000) composition on the mechanical properties of HIPS/SBS blends. The measurement of mechanical properties of HIPS/SBS blends has been made at various compositions. Using a single screw extruder, blends of HIPS/SBS with SBS compositions ranging from 0-12 phr were prepared and the specimens for mechanical evaluations were injection-molded. The mechanical test such as tensile test, flexural test, and impact test were carried out. Incorporation of rubbers in the blends increases Izod impact strength. On the other hand, tensile strength and flexural modulus were decrease with increasing the composition of SBS.

The incorporation of nanoclay in polyamide 6 (PA6) may increase the strength and water resistance... more The incorporation of nanoclay in polyamide 6 (PA6) may increase the strength and water resistance of hygroscopic PA6. However impact strength of PA6 was reduced upon the addition of nanoclay. Blends of polyamide 6 nanocomposites (PA6NC) with either unmodified polyethylene octene elastomer (POE) or reactive polyethylene octene elastomer grafted with maleic anhydride (POE-g-MA) were prepared to overcome the brittleness. The blends were prepared using co-rotating twin screw extruder followed by injection molding into tests samples. The results show that the impact strength of PA6NC containing POE-g-MA is significantly higher than samples containing POE. The plausible reason is that of the better compatibility between PA with POE-g-MA compared to POE with PA6 due to formation of POE-g-PA6 copolymer during the melt processing. POE-g-MA also caused in higher tensile strength values compared to when POE is used. The SEM study show that the rubbery disperse phase is smaller when POE-g-MA is...

Stereolithography is a high accuracy additive manufacturing process that uses a laser beam to cur... more Stereolithography is a high accuracy additive manufacturing process that uses a laser beam to cure photopolymer resin according to the computer-aided design file. Anisotropy in mechanical properties is one of the major challenges that are faced by additive manufacturing technologies. This study is conducted on PR 48 photopolymer samples using FORM 2 SLA printer.