Abstract:

The corn bracts and their fiber were tested in structure and properties with digital fabric thickness meter, electronic fabrics strength tester, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray crystal diffraction (XRD) in order to develop their application. Experimental results show that the thickness, horizontal and longitudinal strength of corn bracts all reduce gradually from outer layer to inner layer. Corn bract is mainly composed of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, and after chemical treatment the content of cellulose increases to 43.79% and that of hemicellulose and lignin decrease. The microscope images show that the surface of corn bract is rough and randomly distributed with holes. The single fiber in corn bract has irregular cross-section and high hollowness. In addition, its longitudinal surface is smooth. X-ray diffraction analysis show corn bract and its fiber both have the crystal structure of celluloseⅠ, with crystallinity of 38.9% and 57.85%, respectively.