Effect of Chemical Treatment of Coir Dust on the Dielectric Behavior of Bio-waste Reinforced Polymer Composites

Abstract

The present work is focused on analyzing the effect of the chemical treatment of coir dust fibers on the dielectric properties of epoxy polymer matrix composites. Coir dust is a spongy, peat-like residue obtained from the processing of coconut husk for coir fiber .The coir dust was washed and sun dried. The dried coir dust was treated with chemicals such as HCl, CH3COOH, KOH and NaOH. An untreated and treated surface of coir dust was characterized using FTIR. The dielectric parameters, viz., dielectric constant (K), dielectric loss (tan δ) of untreated and treated composites were obtained in the frequency range of 100 Hz–1 MHz, and temperature range of 30° C–150° C. It is observed that dielectric loss and A. C. conductivity of the treated coir dust composite has decreased. The dielectric constant of the treated composite is lower than that of untreated composite, maybe because of reduction in interaction between polar–OH groups of coir dust fibers and water molecules.