Nonisothermal Crystallization Behavior of Biocomposites from Poly(lactic acid) and Bamboo Fiber

Poly(lactic acid)/bamboo fiber (BF) bio-degradable composites, incorporating various amounts of alkali solution pretreated BF (BF:1, 5, 10, 20 wt %), were prepared by mixing. The nonisothermal crystallization kinetics of pure PLA and PLA/BF composites were comparatively investigated by using combined Avrami-Ozawa models with differential scanning calorimetry at constant cooling rate of 1.2, 2.5, 5, 10°C/min, respectively. The DSC plots revealed that BF increased the overall crystallization rate of PLA and the crystallization enthalpy (ΔHc) as well. It was found out that BF acted as nucleating agents in PLA/BF composites, which was also in good agreement with activation energy values for nonisothermal crystallization obtained from Kissinger equations. The change in thermal properties such as crystallization temperature, and melting temperature was monitored.