Characterization of acetylated cellulose from oil palm frond fiber (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) for composites application

Oil palm frond (OPF) is found as fiber waste source from palm oil plantation abudantly. Cellulose derived from OPF could be utilized as a reinforcing agent for composite product. However, hydrophilicity, which is one of the natural properties of cellulose, cause a difficulty when cellulose is blended with polymer matrices, which are commonly hydrophobic. Chemical modification is needed in order to facilitate better interaction between cellulose and polymer matrices by mean of wettability enhancement. The objective of this research was to study the effect of reaction time on acetylated cellulose from oil palm frond pulp fiber. In this work, acetylation processes were conducted at 30o C for 1, 3, and 5 h. The degree of substitution was quantified using back titration of saponification method, whereas universal attenuated total reflectance (UATR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were used to analyze the chemical composition and thermal behaviors of acetylated cellulose, respectively. Acetyl specific groups are detected for all acetylated cellulose by UATR analysis. DSC analysis showed by increasing of the degree of substitution, the melting point of acetylated cellulose increased. The results suggested that surface modification by acetylation onto cellulose fiber improved the thermal stability of cellulose for further application such as composite purposes. Keywords : acetylated cellulose, cellulose, oil palmfrond, pulp, thermal properties