Differential Thermal Analysis of Argon and Oxygen Plasma Treated Jute

Md. Masroor Anwer, Md. Mahbubul Hoque

Low temperature plasma (LTP) treatment, a kind of environmentally friendly surface modification technique, was applied to biodegradable and ligno-cellulosic jute fibre with the use of two nonpolymerizing gases, namely argon (Ar) and oxygen (O2) at various discharge power levels of 50, 75 and 100 W and exposure times 5, 10, 15 and 20 min. with a flow rate of 0.2 L/min. Differential thermal properties of both raw and low temperature Ar and O2 plasma treated jute were studied at various discharge power levels and exposure times. From Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA), it is seen that a broad endothermic peak was observed in the temperature range of 60–120 C in both raw jute and LTP treated jute. Degradation temperature of celluloses increases slightly with the increment of both discharge powers and exposure times when LTP treatment done by the Ar or by the O2. In addition, degradation temperature of hemicellulose remain constant when treatment was done by the Ar plasma but for the case of O2 plasma, degradation temperature increases with the increase of discharge power as well as treatment time. From the DTA thermogram, it is seen that the fibres degradation temperatures for both the celluloses and hemicelluloses were unstabled.