Simultaneously enhancing strength and toughness for green poly (butylene succinate) composites by regulating the dispersed rice husk with the silane coupling agent

Circumventing intrinsic brittleness, high crystallinity and low melt strength of Poly (butylene succinate) (PBS) without compromising its remarkable biodegradability, biocompatibility and non-toxicity has become of particular challenge in polymer science and technology due to growing demand for eco-friendly sustainable materials in expanded fields of industry. Achievement of the goal without utilizing any high-cost modifier and advanced process method is another crucial perspective for developing feasible substitution for petroleum-based plastic products in industry. Herein, green poly (butylene succinate) composites are fabricated by virtue of the melt blending with γ-Glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (KH560) grafted rice husk (RH), namely RH@KH560, improving the toughness and strength of the result materials. The incorporation of 15% RH@KH560 into the composite promotes a remarkable increase of 223% in modulus of PBS composite. Concurrently, the Izod impact strength of composite increases by 143% compared with pure composite. The decrease in crystallinity of PBS composite is realized from differential scanning calorimetry, with the amount of RH@KH560 up to 30%. Specifically, the crystallinity decreases by 22% from 46.85% to 36.22% for PBS/RH@KH560-30 composite. Furthermore, the gradually diminishing melting enthalpy (ΔHm) results from a decreasing crystallinity upon increase of the RH@KH560 amount, indicating that the incorporation of RH@KH560 into PBS reduces the crystallinity in a significant manner. Overall, we propose a facile strategy of recycling wastes rice husk as high added-value additives.