Chemical modification on lignocellulosic polymeric oil palm empty fruit bunch for advanced material

Oil palm fiber empty fruit bunch (EFB) was chemically treated with benzyl c hloride (bz-efb) and ethylene oxide (E-efb) at different reaction temperatu res (100 and 110 degreesC for bz-efb; 55, 85, and 92 degreesC for E-efb). T he SEM micrographs of bz-efb and E-efb samples showed tremendous changes in morphological structure such as plastic properties as the reaction tempera ture was increased. The crystallinity (by XRD) and T-g of the reacted fiber s were found to decrease as the reaction temperature increased. The FT-IR o f the reacted samples show that the chemical reactions have taken place bet ween cellulose hydroxyl groups and bz-efb and E-efb, respectively. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.