The Influence of Compatibilizer on Impact Fracture Mechanism of PP/Short Jute Fibers Composite

Biodegradable and renewable properties, flexibility during processing, and low cost of natural fibers make them attractive to use as fillers or reinforcement in plastic composites. Amongnatural fibers, Jute fiber, with high specific stiffness due to high proportion of stiff natural cellulose, is one of the mostcommon biofibers used as reinforcement in natural fiber composites [1]. The hydrophilic nature of jute fibers affects negatively its adhesion to hydrophobic matrix polymers suchas polypropylene which induces a gap at the interface of polymer-fiber [2]. To improve the compatibility betweenmatrix and fibers a surface modification can be applied. The purpose of this work is to investigate the effect of compatibilizer on impact strength and fracture toughness mechanisms of PP/short jute fiber composites