Influence of surface modification on the performance of borassus fruit fiber composites

Abstract

The main objective of the current experimental work is to determine the mechanical properties of borassus fruit fiber (BFF)-based composites and compare the mechanical performance of composites fabricated with different chemically treated BFFs. The BFFs were treated with (a) sodium hydroxide (NaOH), (b) benzoyl chloride (C6H5COCl) and (c) acetyl chloride (CH3COCl), and the surface morphologies of the BFFs were compared with the assistance of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The mechanical properties such as (a) tensile properties, (b) flexural properties, (c) hardness, (d) impact and (e) water absorption behavior of the treated and untreated BFF-based composites were evaluated. The experimental findings showed that the mechanical properties of the BFF-based composites were better than those of the neat epoxy chosen for investigation. The chemically treated BFF-based composites were found to have enhanced mechanical properties and reduced water absorption tendency compared with the untreated BFF-based composites. SEM examination showed that the acetylation-treated BFF-based composites had higher surface roughness and thus excellent mechanical properties and less water absorption tendency among all the chemically treated and untreated BFF-based composites.