Morphological, Thermal, and Mechanical Characterization of Sansevieria trifasciata Fibers

• Published in: Journal of natural fibers Vol. 12; no. 3; pp. 201 - 210
• Main Authors: Rwawiire, Samson, Tomkova, Blanka
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis 04.05.2015
• Subjects: calorimetry; Cellulose; crystallization; Decomposition; Differential scanning calorimetry; DSC; Fibers; Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy; Fourier transforms; FTIR; hemicellulose; lignin; Mechanical properties; natural fiber; parks; perennials; plant fibers; plant morphology; Sansevieria trifasciata; scanning electron microscopes; Scanning electron microscopy; temperature; TGA; Thermal properties; thermogravimetry; woodlands; Uganda
• ISSN: 1544-046X; 1544-0478; 1544-046X
• DOI: 10.1080/15440478.2014.914006

Sansevieria trifasciata is a common perennial plant which freely grows and widely found in homes, parks, and woodlands. In this research, we studied the morphology using Scanning Electron Microscope and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR); thermal properties using Thermogravimetric (TGA) and Differential Scanning Calorimetric (DSC) analyses; mechanical behavior through tensile tests of Sansevieria trifasciata fiber (STF) obtained from Butaleja in Eastern Uganda. Findings show that the fiber has an irregular cross-sectional shape with lumens in the center, the fiber diameter was between 80 and 120 μ m. TGA tests showed that the fiber is stable below 200°C with maximum cellulose decomposition temperature of 315°C. DSC showed that the fiber’s crystallization temperature was 310.5°C and lignin decomposition temperature of 372.7°C. The surface functional groups were majorly of cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin in direct correlation with research elsewhere on natural fibers.