The influence of the alkali-treated bamboo particles on the rubber blend properties for medical applications

This study investigates the effect of chemical treatment on the mechanical properties of bamboo particle-reinforced grafted binary rubber blend systems (RTV-SIR/PUR), particularly for medical applications such as Solid Ankle Cashion heel (SACH) prosthetic feet. The Grafted binary rubber blend composite is consisting of Polyurethane (PUR) with (10, 20, and 30 wt.%) of Room temperature vulcanized silicone rubber (RTV-SIR) with presence of 0.1% of Tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) as coupling agent to more compatibility, and added different percentage of treated bamboo particles (3, 6, and 9 wt.%) that treated by 5% of Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH). The effectiveness of the alkali treatment in eliminating contaminants, enhancing the surface appearance of natural bamboo particles, and improving the bonding between the particles and blend constituents was verified using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The molecular composition of the samples was assessed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Samples were made utilizing vacuum desiccators. The Mechanical properties, including tensile, tear, compression, and hardness, were measured by a material testing system. The results show that a grafted binary blend composite exhibits better mechanical properties when containing less than 30% RTV-SIR. In contrast, increasing the loading of treated bamboo particles to 9 wt.% results in the best properties of the samples. This grafted composite rubber blend is supported by the results presented in this study, which demonstrate a new composition for SACH feet that replaces traditional materials (polyurethane foam) and is feasible due to the use of liquid materials.