82 RRJOMS | Volume 5 | Issue 3 | June, 2017 Research & Reviews: Journal of Material Sciences e-ISSN: 2321-6212 p-ISSN: 2347-2278 DOI: 10.4172/2321-6212.1000186 Thermal Properties of Butylacrylate (BA) Transesterified and Benzoyl Peroxide (BPO) Cured Coir Fibers Rout SK 1* , Tripathy BC 2 and Ray PK 3 1 Department of chemistry, Konark Institute of Science and Technology, Bhubaneswar-752050, Odisha, India 2 Hydro and Electrometallurgy Department, Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India 3 Laboratory of nano-medicine, Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneswar-751023, Odisha, India Research Article INTRODUCTION Lignocellulosic fbers, also called “Vegetable” fbers, “Plant” fbers or “natural” fbers. They are materials rich in lignin, hemicellulose, cellulose, pectin and some water soluble materials. The great interest of these materials is directly related to their physical, chemical and mechanical properties such as low density, fexibility, biodegradability, porosity, non abrasivity, viscoelasticity, renewable natural resource of low cost and result in less wear on equipment during their processing when compared with synthetic fbers [1,2] . Due to these excellent properties, natural fbers have been used in the textile, paper, bio composites, and technological applications [3] . Coir is a naturally occurring fber and is available plently in the costal belt of India. Coir is a multi-component fber whose chemical constituents are cellulose (36-43%), lignin (41-45%), hemicellulose (0.15-0.25%) and pectin together with some water soluble material [4] . The coir fbers are also extensively used in textiles (carpets, mats), in buildings (thermal insulation) and in automobiles (seat covers, cushions) [5] . Coir fbers have great potential for distinct applications owing to their varied physico–chemical properties [6-8] . Among the various applications suggested, use in agricultural substrate [9] , solid state fermentation [10] , source of tannin for industrial applications [11] , reinforcement for polymeric composites [3] , as a support for amylase [12] and lipase immobilization [13,14] . For a number of these applications, the characteristics of the fber surface are very important to obtain a high quality ABSTRACT In this work the signifcance of transesterifcation and curing on the thermal behavior of agro waste coir fbers has been reported. Thermal behaviour of six varieties of fbers i.e. (1) base coir, (2) coir fbers treated with 4% sodium hydroxide [Coir-ONa (4%)], (3) coir transesterfed with n-Butyl acrylate (BA) in presence of Pyridine and Acetone [Coir-BA (Py/ Acetone)], (4) benzoyl peroxide (BPO) cured [Coir-BA (Py/Acetone)] which is [Coir-BA (Py/Acetone)-C-BPO], (5) Coir-ONa (4%) transesterifed with butylacrylate [Coir-BA (4% NaOH)] and (6) cured [Coir-BA (4% NaOH)] which is [Coir-BA (4% NaOH)-C-BPO] were studied from their TG, DTG, DTA and DSC. The activation energy involved in the pyrolysis of coirs and the order of reaction has been evaluated with the help of Freeman-Caroll model. It was found that the temperature of completion for degradation (T f (°C)) of the modifed coir was higher than the Base coir. Thermal stability of chemically modifed fbers follow the order as Coir-BA (Py/Acetone)-C-BPO>Coir-BA (Py/Acetone)>Coir-BA (4% NaOH)-C-BPO>Coir-BA (4% NaOH)>Coir-ONa (4%)>Base coir. It was observed that transesterifcation and curing improve the thermal stability of the fbers, making them highly suitable for their applications as good reinforcement materials for designing and fabrication of novel polymeric composites, textile fbers, adsorbents, and adsorbates. Received: 23/06/2017 Accepted: 07/08/2017 Published: 17/08/2017 *For Correspondence Sanjay Kumar Rout, Department of chemistry, Konark Institute of Science and Technology, Bhubaneswar-752050, Odisha, India, Tel: + 9438453824 Email: sanjay.tulu@gmail.com Keywords: Coir, Lignocellulosic, Transesterifcation, Curing, TG, DTA, DSC