Effect of Surface Treatment on the Mechanical Properties of Epoxy Filled with Dates Palm (Phoenix dactylifera) Particulates Composite

Treatments of lignocellulosics material have been found to be useful in preparation of polymer composites since such treatment help to improve their properties. Epoxy filled with untreated and 5% NaOH treated date particulates of particle size 150 µm composites were prepared with filler loadings ranging from 10 wt% to 50 wt% using hand layup techniques. Mechanical properties of the composite samples were determined in accordance with ASTM standards. Tensile and flexural tests were measured with the aid of universal testing machine in accordance with ASTM D3039 and ASTM D790 standard tests for tensile and flexural respectively, for polymer composite. SEM morphology and water absorption were equally studied. Results showed that the introduction of 10 wt% filler loading of the untreated and treated date filler reduced the tensile strength of the unfilled epoxy resin by 20.2% and 11.1% respectively. The date pits (DTP) composites gave maximum and minimum tensile strength values of 29.35 MPa at 10 wt% of date pits/epoxy (DTP/EP). Composites produced from the treated filler showed appreciable properties that is better than the untreated filler and can be used to produce particleboard, interior parts of automobile, ceiling and tiles in building application.