The reserach is focused on the resistance of bio-polymer thin film to bio-degradation in compost soil from renewable resources based on waste banana peel and waste egg shell in polymer matrix. The combination of waste banana peel and waste egg shell in producing of bio-mulching film is a new inovation in agricultural industry . Bio-mulching film is a biodegradable plastics films that can help in increasing the moisture content of soil and improving the soil ingredients in order to make the plants grow well. The thin film is produced by using the waste banana banana peelas the reinforcement fiber, eggshell as filler and epoxy resin as matrix. The thickness of thin film was in between 0.10 mm to 0.15 mm. The epoxy/waste banana banana peelwith eggshell (EWE) 10%, were affected by bio-degradation in soi burial test where the occurances of surface damages, which in turn enhances the degradation of physical properties.

Hybrid kenaf/glass fibre mat reinforced unsaturated polyester (UPE) composites have been prepared by using simple hand lay up moulding technique. The composites with various formulations were characterized by flexural test while water absorption behaviour were investigated with immersion in distilled water at room temperature. The result shows that the hybrid composites with kenaf fibre mat at the innermost layers (glass fibre mat at the outer layers) has given the highest flexural strength and modulus. On the other hand, water absorption study shows that, the hybrid composites with glass fibre mat at the innermost layers (kenaf fibre mat at the outer layers) showed the highest water uptake and thickness swelling. Further investigations on morphological properties were also done to correlate the mechanical properties of the hybrid kenaf/glass fibre mat reinforced UPE composites.

The objective of the study was to evaluate the dimensional stability of experimental particle board panels made from rubberwood (Hevea brasiliensis) using modified starch as binder. Panels were manufactured using 15% corn starch modified with glutardialdehyde and 13% modified starch with 2% Urea Formaldehyde resin as improvement. The particle boards were tested for their dimensional stability towards moisture. Results found that the 2% replacement of modified starch with urea formaldehyde resin showed increment in dimensional stability compared to using glutardialdehyde modified corn starch only as the binder, recorded at 39.38 % and 23.47 % for particleboard with 0.80 g/cm³ density after exposed to 75% and 95 % relative humidity. Therefore, this study indicated that combination of modified corn starch and urea formaldehyde resin can have a potential to be used as an improved binder to produce particle board panels with accepted properties.The objective of the study was to evaluate the dimensional stability of experimental particle board panels made from rubberwood (Hevea brasiliensis) using modified starch as binder. Panels were manufactured using 15% corn starch modified with glutardialdehyde and 13% modified starch with 2% Urea Formaldehyde resin as improvement. The particle boards were tested for their dimensional stability towards moisture. Results found that the 2% replacement of modified starch with urea formaldehyde resin showed increment in dimensional stability compared to using glutardialdehyde modified corn starch only as the binder, recorded at 39.38 % and 23.47 % for particleboard with 0.80 g/cm³ density after exposed to 75% and 95 % relative humidity. Therefore, this study indicated that combination of modified corn starch and urea formaldehyde resin can have a potential to be used as an improved binder to produce particle board panels with accepted properties.

CaCu₃Ti₄O₁₂ (CCTO) is a promising material for microelectronic and microwave device applications due to its unique properties that posses high dielectric constant in the wide temperature range. In this work, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses were applied for nanoscale imaging of Nb-doped CCTO grains. The Nb-doped CCTO pellets (CaCu₃Ti_4-xNb_xO_12+x/2; x = 0, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, 0.1) were prepared via solid state reaction method and thermally etched at 940°C for an hour. From AFM and SEM images found that tiny bumped as well as terrace type domains are distributed within a grain. The domain size is ranging from 20 to 180 nm measured by AFM. The existence of domains on grain will produce grain boundary and domain boundary resistance inside CCTO. Both domain and grain resistance are believed to strongly influence the electrical properties of CCTO.