Study Of The Structure And Properties Of The Lotus Fiber

As people increasingly attach importance to environmental protection and the demand for green products rises, the development and utilization of natural fiber has become an important subject in textile industry. Lotus fiber is a new kind of natural cellulose fiber, which has unique properties meeting the needs of modern producing and living. To provide theoretical basis for developing lotus fiber products and realizing its industrial preparation, the microstructure, morphology and basic properties of Lotus fiber extracted in manual way are systematically investigated using modern testing techniques and methods in this thesis.To further study Lotus fiber's fibril hierarchy, ultrathin sections of lotus fibers through different treatment have been observed and compared by TEM. TEM pictures show the distribution of cellulose and hemi-cellulose, as well as the fibril hierarchy and arrangement.Lotus fiber's crystal and orientation structure are investigated using wide angle X-ray diffraction method. The results demonstrate that lotus fiber's crystallinity, crystal index and crystallite size are all smaller than the cotton fiber's, while its orientation degree is close to the bast fiber.The fiber's single tensile property and linear density are tested using FAVIMAT AIRBOT electronic strength instrument; by measuring its average breaking strength, elongation and initial modulus, it is deduced that Lotus fiber has medium strength and low elongation; from its tensile curve, it can be illustrated that the relationship between strength and elongation is almost linear and the breaking is brittle fracture.Lotus fiber's moisture regain is measured by the oven method with moisture absorption and liberation curves being established, which show that Lotus fiber has high moisture regain with high rate of moisture absorption and liberation. It is obtained by thermo gravimetric analysis that the fiber's thermal decomposition process is quite similar with the cotton fiber. Its onset temperature of thermal decomposition is slightly lower than the cotton fiber's while its residue rate is a little higher.Lotus fiber's ability of chemical agent resistance is analyzed with weight loss, breaking strength and SEM observation of surface morphology after Lotus fibers suffering different kinds of chemical agent treatment. The results show that the fiber can not resist strong acid; at room temperature it has good alkali resistance, but in boiling alkali solution it damages a lot; the fiber is affected not much by other agents.