Preparação e propriedades de compósitos de policaprolactona (PCL) e babaçu.

Abstract

The present work aims to extend the application of the polycaprolactone polymer (PCL), by the development of polycaprolactone/babassu composites and to evaluate the effect of the processing conditions on the rheological, thermal and morphological properties of these composites as a function of the type and content of filler. The pure matrix and composites were processed in the Haake Rheomix 3000 internal mixer. The rate of degradation during processing was estimated by analyzing the results obtained during the last melt processing step. The incorporation of vegetable fiber increased the viscosity of the molten composites, which depends on the type and content of the filler, being the greater effect for composites with babassu epicarp. The incorporation of babassu has discreetly increased the rate of degradation. The results by DSC showed that babassu promoted the crystallization of PCL, shifting the crystallization peak to higher temperatures and increasing the conversion rate. The crystallinity increased with the filler content, depending moderately on the type of filler. The thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed that the presence of load moderately reduced the thermal stability of the material, but the decomposition temperature is virtually independent of the type and content of the load. The images obtained by optical microscopy (OM) revealed larger particles and the presence of agglomerates in composites with higher filler content. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed poor polymer/filler adhesion.