Diammonium phosphate-modified ramie fiber reinforced polylactic acid composite and its performances on interfacial, thermal, and mechanical properties

In this study, the properties of molded ramie fibers reinforced with polylactic acid (PLA) biocomposites were investigated. Before preparation of composites, diammonium phosphate (DAP) was applied to the surface of ramie fibers with and without pretreatments to analyze the interfacial adhesion of ramie-PLA composite. Wettability and adhesion behavior of ramie fibers in the PLA resin were characterized by contact angle (CA) measurements. The surface chemical analysis was performed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The thermal properties were recorded using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The wetting analysis results showed that the introduction of DAP treatment to ramie fibers significantly improved the wetting behavior of ramie in the PLA resin. Similarly, the results of TGA indicated that DAP treatment substantially decreased the degradation temperature of the composites. The result of FTIR was also consistent with the results of wettability, TGA, and DSC for the observed changes of peaks in the transmission spectrum.