Improvement of Mechanical Properties of Jute Fibers-Polyethylene/Polypropylene Composites: Effect of Green Dye and UV Radiation

Jute-reinforced polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) and mixture of PP/PE composites were prepared. It was found that 90% PP and 10% PE matrices based jute reinforced composites performed the better results. UV radiation at different intensities was applied both on matrices and jute. Mechanical properties of the irradiated jute- and matrices-based composites were found to increase significantly. Optimized jute fabrics were also treated with different concentrations of green dye (0.1-1%, w/w) with 2% K2O8S2 in methanol solution for 2-8min. A composite made of 0.5% green dye jute (5min soaking time) and irradiated matrix showed the best mechanical properties.