Effect of the Low and Radio Frequency Oxygen Plasma Treatment of Jute Fiber on Mechanical Properties of Jute Fiber/Polyester Composite

Abstract

We investigated the surface modification of jute fiber by oxygen plasma treatments. Jute fibers were treated in different plasma reactors (radio frequency "RF" and low frequency "LF" plasma reactors) using O-2 for different plasma powers to increase the interface adhesion between jute fiber and polyester matrix. The influence of various plasma reactors on mechanical properties of jute fiber-reinforced polyester composites was reported. Tensile, flexure, short beam shear tests were used to determine the mechanical properties of the composites. The interlaminar shear strength increased from 11.5 MPa for the untreated jute fiber/polyester composite to 19.8 and 26.3 MPa for LF and RF oxygen plasma treated jute fiber/polyester composites, respectively. O-2 plasma treatment also improved the tensile and flexural strengths of jute fiber/polyester composites for both plasma systems. It is clear that O-2 plasma treatment of jute fibers by using RF plasma system instead of using LF plasma system brings about greater improvement on the mechanical properties of jute/polyester composites.