Effect of surface treatment on thermal stability of the hemp-PLA composites: Correlation of activation energy with thermal degradation

The thermal behavior of hemp-poly lactic acid composites with both untreated and chemically surface modified hemp fiber was characterized by means of activation energy of thermal degradation. Three chemical surface modification employed were; alkali, silane and acetic anhydride. Model-free isoconversion Flynn–Wall–Ozawa method was chosen to evaluate the activation energy of composites. The results indicated that composites prepared with acetic anhydride modified hemp had 10–13% higher activation energy compared to other composites. Further, among the three surface modifications, acetic anhydride resulted in higher activation energy (159–163kJ/mol). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy supported the findings of thermogravimetric analysis results, wherein surface functionalization changes were observed as a result of surface modification of hemp fiber. It was concluded that, higher bond energy results in higher activation energy, which improves thermal stability. The activation energy data can aid in better understanding of the thermal degradation behavior of composites as a function of composite processing.