Experimental Analysis and Effect of Fiber Surface Modifications on the Properties of Plant-Drive Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites

Abstract

Global challenges of today center on ways to combat global warming while reducing the rate at which fossil fuels are depleted through the use of environmentally friendly, biodegradable products. This work envisions the use of vetiver fiber (VF) as a reinforcement material in composite material construction, since the scientific literature advocates alternative materials for plastics. Based on the fiber composition of the fibers, the effects of various chemical treatments on the physico-mechanical, morphological, and weather tests of polypropylene (PP) composites reinforced with vetiver Fibers (VFs) were examined in this work. The findings show that vetiver fibers serve as reinforcing fillers in composite materials, enhancing their physicomechanical characteristics such as tensile strength, tensile modulus, impact strength, hardness, and water absorption. The mechanical characteristics of PP/VF composites containing benzoyl chloride after sodium dodecyl sulfate preparation are superior to those of sodium dodecyl sulfate-treated and untreated fiber composites. The interfacial properties were assessed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and it was discovered that the treatment of the fibers increased the interfacial interaction between PP and VF, hence validating the acquired mechanical qualities of the composites. The sodium dodecyl sulfate-prepared VF composites that had been treated with benzoyl chloride absorbed less water than composites that had not been treated with sodium dodecyl sulfate or had not been treated at all, according to the results of the water absorption test. Weather testing revealed that benzoyl chloride-treated composites with sodium dodecyl sulfate pretreatment exhibited less deterioration in their tensile strength and tensile modulus than both sodium dodecyl sulfate-treated and untreated composites.