Journal of Natural Fibers

ISSN: 1544-0478 (Print) 1544-046X (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/wjnf20

Effect of Filler Content of Chemically Treated

Short Bagasse Fiber-Reinforced Cardanol Polymer
Composites

A. Balaji, B. Karthikeyan, J. Swaminathan & C Sundar Raj

To cite this article: A. Balaji, B. Karthikeyan, J. Swaminathan & C Sundar Raj (2018): Effect
of Filler Content of Chemically Treated Short Bagasse Fiber-Reinforced Cardanol Polymer
Composites, Journal of Natural Fibers, DOI: 10.1080/15440478.2018.1431829

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/15440478.2018.1431829

Published online: 29 Jan 2018.

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JOURNAL OF NATURAL FIBERS
https://doi.org/10.1080/15440478.2018.1431829

Effect of Filler Content of Chemically Treated Short Bagasse

Fiber-Reinforced Cardanol Polymer Composites
A. Balajia, B. Karthikeyanb, J. Swaminathanc, and C Sundar Raj a

a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, A.V.C. College of Engineering, Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu, India;
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Annamalai University,
Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India; cDepartment of Chemistry, A.V.C. College of Engineering, Mayiladuthurai,
TamilNadu, India

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
In this work, the sugarcane bagasse fiber was used as a filler to make a new Natural fiber/matrix bond;
type of biodegradable composite, using the cardanol resin, as a fully biocomposites; cardanol
biodegradable thermosetting polymer matrix. Biocomposite performance resin; mechanical properties;
was improved by chemically modified bagasse fiber using alkaline treat- thermal properties
ment. Two sets of composites were prepared with a fiber length of 10 and 关键词
20 mm with various weight percentages viz., 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 of cardanol 天然纤维/基体结合; 生物
resin using a compression molding machine. The mechanical properties 复合材料; 腰果酚树脂;
were studied using some tests and the morphological study in flexural 力学性能; 热性能。
fractured specimens was carried out using SEM. The thermal properties of
biodegradable polymer composites were evaluated using TGA. The chemi-
cal formation of the new biocomposites was also examined by the FT-IR
spectroscopy technique. The result proved that the morphology of the
composites has improved the bonding between the fiber and resin, thus
leading to enhancement of the mechanical properties. The result had
shown the tensile and flexural strength with an increase in the range of
bagasse fiber up to 15 wt% in both the sets. The TGA results showed that
biocomposites of 15 wt% in both sets had the highest thermal stability. This
investigation recommended the possibility of introducing bio-fiber
obtained from waste agricultural residues in polymer matrix composites.

摘要
在这项工作中，甘蔗蔗渣纤维作为填料，使一个新的可生物降解的复合
型，利用腰果酚树脂，作为完全生物降解热固性聚合物基。碱改性蔗渣
纤维改善生物复合材料性能。与纤维长度10毫米和20毫米的不同重量百
分比即制备两套复合材料，0, 5, 10，15和20的腰果酚树脂的压缩成型
机。通过试验研究了弯曲断裂试样的力学性能，并利用扫描电镜对弯曲
断裂试样进行了形态学研究。用TGA对可生物降解聚合物复合材料的热性
能进行了评价。用FT-IR光谱技术研究了新型生物复合材料的化学组成。
结果表明，复合材料的形态改善了纤维与树脂的结合，从而提高了材料
的力学性能。结果表明，蔗渣纤维的拉伸强度和弯曲强度均随蔗渣纤维
含量的增加而增加到15。热重分析结果表明，两种组分中15重量%的生物
复合材料的热稳定性最高。本研究推荐了利用废弃农业废弃物在聚合物
基复合材料中引入生物纤维的可能性。

Introduction
Over the last few years, a number of researchers have been involved in studying the utilization of
natural fibers as reinforced behavior components in polymer composite materials. India gifted with

CONTACT A. Balaji autpbalaji@rediffmail.com Department of Mechanical Engineering, A.V.C. College of Engineering,

Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu, India.
© 2018 Taylor & Francis
2 A. BALAJI ET AL.

an abundant accessibility of natural fiber such as Jute, Coir, Bamboo, Bagasse etc. has focused on the
development of natural fiber composites mainly to explore the value-added applications (Balaji,
Karthikeyan, and Sundar Raj 2015). The mechanical strength of natural fiber-reinforced polymer
composites could not equivalent that of synthetic fiber-reinforced polymer composites. For the last
decades, extensive research is underway in order to improve the mechanical properties of natural
fiber-reinforced polymer composites (O’Donnell, Dweib, and Wool 2004).
The development of composite materials is dependent relative on the fiber and its matrix. The
fibers are responsible for the stiffness and strength while the matrix provides the orientation that
bonds the fibers (Eichhorn et al. 2001). A serious problem of natural fibers is their strong polar
nature which creates an incompatibility with most polymer matrices. Surface treatments, although
having a negative impact on economics, are potentially able to beat the difficulty of incompatibility.
Chemical treatments can enhance the interface adhesion between the fiber and matrix and
decrease the water absorption of fibers. Therefore, chemical treatments can be considered in
modifying the properties of natural fibers. Some compounds are known to promote adhesion by
chemically coupling the adhesive to the material, such as alkaline (sodium hydroxide), isocyanates,
acetic acid, acrylic acid, maleated coupling agents, potassium permanganate, silane, peroxide, etc.
(Xue et al. 2007; Tonoli et al. 2009). Among all the methods, the alkaline treatment may be
considered to be the most inexpensive method, the main drawback is the deterioration in the fiber
strength during the treatment (Gu 2009).
Cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) is an important agricultural by-product of cashew nut produc-
tion. The potential annual availability of this material, which accounts for about 32% of the shell.
India is the largest producer of cashew nut, accounting for almost 50% of world exports. The tree
also yields the so-called cashew apple to which the nut is attached. This is very juicy, fibrous, and
also edible (Maffezzoli et al. 2004).
Industrial application of CNSL-based products are numerous, including brake linings, foundry
chemicals, lacquers, cements, and transformed cardanol for gasoline stabilization (Castro Dantas et al.
2003; Telascrêa et al. 2014), an excellent monomer for thermosetting polymer production as well as its
use as a composite matrix. The large availability of cardanol in tropical areas could be exploited for the
synthesis of thermosetting matrices for composites, taking advantage of its low cost. The potential
applications of such matrices, in competition with polyester, epoxy, or vinylester resins, are related to the
process ability and the performances that could be achieved (Bhunia et al. 1998).
The aim of this work is (1) to prepare bagasse fiber (cut 10 and 20 mm length) and chemical
treatment of bagasse fiber; (2) to prepare bio-composite materials from Cardanol and epoxy resin
with chemical treated bagasse fibers as reinforcement in different weight percentages (0, 5, 10, 15,
and 20); (3) to study the mechanical and thermal properties of the cardanol–bagasse composite
materials.

Materials and methods

Materials
Epoxy [LY 556], HY 951 [as a coupling agent, commercial name is Araldite], formaldehyde
(HCHO), and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) was procured from Indian scientific solution
(Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu India). Cashew Nut Shell Liquid (CNSL), procured from Ganesh
Chemicals (Pondicherry, India). The sugarcane bagasse collected from roadside sugarcane juice
shop at Chidambaram, (Cuddalore District, Tamil Nadu, India).

Alkaline treatment in bagasse fibers

The sugarcane bagasse was cleaned by way of pressurized water for about one hour. This procedure
eliminates fine bagasse particles, sugar residues and organic materials from the samples. Then the
 JOURNAL OF NATURAL FIBERS 3

Figure 1. Photograph of the prepared bagasse fibers.

sugarcane baggase were dried for 2 days under sunlight and hot air oven at 90 to 100°C for 24 hours
to remove moisture content from it. Subsequently, the fibers were cut into 10 and 20 mm length
crosswise. The single fiber cross-sectional outline, in general, may not be circular. But, it is usually
said to be circular in cross-section (Xu et al. 2010). Figure 1 shows the photograph of the prepared
bagasse fibers.
The fibers were immersed in distilled water at room temperature and dried in an oven (with air-
circulated) at 100°C for 24 hours. Five percent of sodium hydroxide (relative to weight percent of
sugarcane bagasse fiber) was added in distilled water and then again fiber was immersed in the
mixture for one day. The fiber was further dried in an oven at 100°C for 24 hours (Huang et al.
2012). One of the aims of this treatment was to increase the surface area and decrease the
hydrophilic groups. This hydrophilic nature can lead to incompatibility and poor wet ability in a
hydrophobic polymer matrix, and weak bonding in the fiber/matrix interface (Barreto et al. 2011).

Cardanol resin preparation

The reactants and the catalyst were taken in the ratio as CNSL:HCHO:NaOH by weight ratio as
227:48:5.43 (grams). NaOH and HCHO were dissolved slowly for 1 hours and 30 min directly into
the CNSL taken in a flask with a magnetic stirrer at 300 RPM. Poly-condensation reaction takes
place for a day and the reacted resin were collected after settling (Balaji et al. 2017).

Composites preparation
The processes of composites developed were reported elsewhere (Barreto et al. 2010; Da Silva Santos
et al. 2010). Briefly, a compression molding technique was used in manufacturing. A rubber mold
having dimensions of 300 × 300 × 3 mm was used. A release agent (silicon) was used to facilitate
easy removal of the composite from the mold after curing.
Cardanol was mixed with epoxy resin in the presence of the coupling agent HY 951 (Araldite) in
the proportion 3:8:1 (by weight), respectively. Epoxy resin acts as a modifier agent in the polymer,
giving it greater flexibility and adhesion. The epoxy resin hardened with the aid of a catalyst
improving the thermosetting properties of the material (May 1988). This mix was used to start the
impregnation; in bagasse fibers (10 and 20 mm length). The mix was stirred manually to disperse the
short fibers in the matrix.
4 A. BALAJI ET AL.

Figure 2. Structure of cardanol resin.

Figure 3. Photograph of the developed composites.

Table 1. Composition of composite fiber.

S.No Sample Matrix Reinforcement Fiber wt% and length
1. S1 Cardanol Neat polymer without fiber 0 wt%
2. S2 Cardanol Treated bagasse fiber 5 wt% (10 mm length)
3. S3 Cardanol Treated bagasse fiber 10 wt% (10 mm length)
4. S4 Cardanol Treated bagasse fiber 15 wt% (10 mm length)
5. S5 Cardanol Treated bagasse fiber 20 wt% (10 mm length)
6. S6 Cardanol Treated bagasse fiber 5 wt% (20 mm length)
7. S7 Cardanol Treated bagasse fiber 10 wt% (20 mm length)
8. S8 Cardanol Treated bagasse fiber 15 wt% (20 mm length)
9. S9 Cardanol Treated bagasse fiber 20 wt% (20 mm length)

The mixer was then transferred into the compression molding machine. By compression the
molding process, under temperature of 110°C, the laminate was produced. The weight percentage of
fiber reinforcement was varied as 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%. This laminates were post cure at 120°
C temperature for a day in a hot air oven. Composites S1–S9 of nine dissimilar compositions were
prepared. Figure 2 shows the structure of cardanol. Figure 3 shows the photograph of the developed
composites. Table 1 provides the description of blends and their compositions.

Characterization
Morphology studies: Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analyses of the untreated and treated
fiber and flexural fractured surfaces of composites was performed using a JEOL JSM 6610 LV
(India). The composites were cleaned thoroughly, air-dried, and were coated with platinum to
provide enhanced conductivity and observed SEM at 15 kV.
FT-IR measurements were performed in a Bruker IFS 66 infra-red spectrophotometer using the
KBr pellet technique. Each spectrum was recorded over 20 scans, in the range from 4000 to 400 cm−1
with a resolution of 4 cm−1.
 JOURNAL OF NATURAL FIBERS 5

Mechanical properties: Tensile tests was carried out with a Unitek-94100 testing machine at a load
range 0 to 100 kN and cross head speed of 5 to 250 mm/min. Testing was conducted following the
ASTM D638 (bell-shaped) standard; Flexural strength of the specimens was measured according to
the process specified in ASTM D790. Hardness values of the composites were carried out by
Rockwell hardness machine RAB 250 SCNO: SN 7078 using a 1.56 mm steel ball indenter, a
minor load of 10 kgf, and major load of 100 kgf. Five replicates were tested for each sample to
obtain an average value for all measurements.
Thermal analyses: Thermogravimetry (TGA) was carried out NETZSCH STA 449F3 thermo
gravimetric analyzer in order to compare the thermal stability and thermal degradation of different
materials. About 10 g of each sample was placed in a platinum pan and heated 30 to 700°C at a
heating rate of 5 °C/min under a nitrogen atmosphere.

Results and discussion

Morphological characterization of fibers
The SEM assessments were applied for the untreated and chemically treated bagasse fibers char-
acterizations. In untreated bagasse fibers, shown in Figure 4(a), one can see a normal structure due
to the presence of lignin, hemicelluloses and wax, where these components confer mechanical
strength to the biocomposite. After alkali treatment of bagasse using 5% NaOH, the abovementioned
components were removed partially. The presence of some additional layers (Figure 4(b)) in the
fibers may be due to the modification on the surface.

FT-IR analyses of untreated and treated fiber

A comparative FT-IR spectrum of untreated and chemically treated bagasse fiber (Figure 5) was recorded
and analyzed elaborately. The following observations were made in comparative FT-IR analyses of
untreated and treated bagasse fiber (Figure 5). A strong-broad spectrum around 3400 cm−1 in both
the spectra indicates the shift of O–H stretching vibration with the presence of intermolecular hydrogen
bonding (Swaminathan et al. 2009a). This shows the presence of hydroxyl group in the cellulose and
hemicellulose present in the fiber. Absence of a peak at 3700 cm−1 predicts the absence of hydrogen bond
free O–H stretching frequency (Swaminathan et al. 2009b). The strong and weak bands at 2900 and
2800 cm−1 strengthen the presence of CH2 asymmetric and symmetric stretching. The decrease in
intensity of this band for treated fiber indicates the decrease in the concentration of hemicellulose
compared to the untreated fiber (Figure 6). The medium and weak band around 1580 to 1400 cm−1
corresponds to the presence of saturated and unsaturated C–C stretching frequency in the fiber. A peak
near 1300 cm−1 corresponds to the presence of aromatic C–H stretching frequency. The peaks observed
around 1200 to 1100 cm−1 shows the presence of C–O–C stretching (Ramalingam et al. 2008), which

Figure 4. SEM images of a) untreated and b) chemically treated.

6 A. BALAJI ET AL.

Figure 5. Comparative FT-IR spectra of untreated and treated fiber.

Figure 6. Structure of cellulose and hemicellulose.

strengthens the presence of the ether linkage of cellulose and hemicellulose in the fiber. A weak band
around 1030 cm−1 in the untreated fiber shows the C–H out-plane bending vibration which strengthens
the presence of more hemicellulose compared to treated fiber. A medium band observed at 800 cm−1 in
both the spectra indicates the existence of C–C–C in-plane bending of aromatic ring.

Mechanical properties
The tensile, flexural strength, and hardness of composites with different fiber contents and different
fiber length (10 and 20 mm) were compared with neat polymer (0 wt%). The results were shown an
average tensile strength and modulus in Figure 7a and 7b. All types of composites showed better
module than the neat polymer. The mechanical strength increased with increasing fiber loading. As
Figure 7(a) indicates, the average tensile strength improved from 18.2 MPa for the cardanol epoxy
matrix to a maximum of 27.3 and 28 MPa at 15 wt% in 10 and 20 mm fiber length correspondingly.
The tensile strength increased linearly up to 15 wt%, subsequently it lean to decrease in spite of the
 JOURNAL OF NATURAL FIBERS 7

Figure 7. a and b Effect of chemical treated bagasse fiber content on tensile strength & tensile modulus of composites.

additional increase in the wt% of fiber reinforcement. The tensile strength of many filled polymers
can be enhanced using compatibilizers, which improve the adhesion between fiber and matrix
interface (Dehghani et al. 2013; Ramanaiah, Ratna Prasad, and Chandra Reddy 2011). These results
showed that bagasse fibers treated with NaOH (5 wt%) had a better interface with polymer matrix,
allowing an enhanced stiffness, better distribution of tension and therefore, enhanced tensile testing
results (Silva et al. 2016). At high wt% percentage reinforcement, it is more complex for the polymer
to entirely impregnate the fibers, thus leading to poor interfacial bonding and hence worse mechan-
ical properties. As a result, there was a decreasing in tensile strength with increasing fiber content in
the composite beyond 15 wt%. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) data supported these results. The
results of the average tensile modulus as shown in Figure 7(b), the tensile modulus of composites
increased from 1.15 to 2.34 GPa with an increase in the fiber content (wt%) from 0 to 20%. The
increase in tensile modulus is due to the rigid nature of the fiber structure so that its tautness
increases. As bagasse fiber addition increases, tensile modulus of the composite also increases.
The effect of bagasse fiber loading on the flexural strengths of composites is shown in Figure 8(a).
This result also had a similar trend with that of tensile strength; both the set of composites also had
their maximum flexural strengths at 15 wt% 87.5 and 93.75 MPa for 10 and 20 mm fiber length,
8 A. BALAJI ET AL.

Figure 8. a and b Effect of chemical treated bagasse fiber content on flexural strength and flexural modulus of composites.

respectively. It showed higher values compared to the tensile strength of the composites, which could
be attributed to the orientation of fibers in the outer layer of the composites (Son, Yang, and Kim
2004). The flexural modulus exhibited an increasing trend with an increase in the amount of fiber
reinforcements show in Figure 8(b).
From Figure 9, it can be seen that the hardness of the composite increases with an increase in the
wt% bagasse fiber within the cardanol epoxy matrix of the composite. The sample having the
maximum wt% bagasse fiber shows the maximum hardness value of 45 HRB and 46 HRB in 10
and 20 mm fiber length respectively. The increments were credited to an increase in the percentage
of the hard and brittle bagasse fiber as revealed by the composition of the bagasse fiber (Agunsoye
and Aigbodion 2013). Also, it clearly indicates that addition of bagasse fiber filler improves the load
bearing capacity of the composites (Sanadi, Caulfield, and Rowell 1994).

Flexural fracture surface morphology evaluation

The effect of the fiber length and loading on the micro failure mode, the surface of fractured
specimens was examined using SEM. Figure 10 shows representative photomicrographs of fracture
 JOURNAL OF NATURAL FIBERS 9

Figure 9. Effect of chemical treated bagasse fiber content on Hardness of composites.

surfaces of samples subjected to flexural strength, for the neat polymer (0 wt%) and four different
loading (5–20 wt%) at two different lengths (10 and 20 mm). The fractured flexural surfaces of neat
polymer depicted in Figure 10(a) appear rougher and potholed supporting its brittle behavior with a
limited ductile nature (Jawaid, Abdul Khalil, and Abu Bakar 2011) and also confirmation of absence
of fibers. For the 5 wt% of 10 and 20 mm length fiber composites, apparent gaps or voids between
fiber and matrix were observed in an enlarged SEM micrograph (Figure 10(b) and (c)), indicating
the bagasse fiber led to agglomeration and interface depending between fiber and polymer.
Consequently, creation of stress concentrations that required less energy to elongate the crack
propagation in 5 wt% composites than others wt% composites. Figure 10(d) and (e) exemplifies
the flexural fractured surface of 10 wt% of 10 and 20 mm length fiber composites that contains
cavities, fiber pull-out and fiber incompatibility. 10 wt% composites shows weaker fiber and matrix
interface causing the fibers to be pulled out from the matrix easily when stress was applied, leading
to high porosity through which entrapment of air inside the composite (Asaithambi et al. 2014). On
the contrary, it was obvious that the interfacial adhesion between fiber and matrix was dramatically
improved in 15 wt% composites (Figure 10(f) and (g)) and obtained maximum flexural strengths of
87.5 and 93.75 MPa for 10 and 20 mm fiber length, respectively. This composite appears with a well
trapped, good orientation and without any high irregularities of fiber, when compared to other
samples. The improvement in the interfacial property was responsible for the great enhancement in
mechanical properties of cardanol biocomposites. Figure 10(h) and (i) shows the failure surface for
20 wt% of 10 and 20 mm length fiber composites. The failure mode observed on the fibers shows
good dispersion and tearing which was attributed to a better interaction with the matrix, but still
such interaction was due to friction and mechanical interlocking. It showed tearing and this explains
the presence of traces of matrix material on the fiber surface.

FT-IR analyses of composites

Another detailed comparative FT-IR study was carried out for 10 and 20 mm composites of various
weight percentages, viz., 0, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% (Figure 11(b) and (c)). The following observa-
tions were made in FT-IR analyses of the above mentioned composites. The spectra obtained for all
the composites were well correlated with each other.
A strong and broad peak observed around 3400 cm−1 shows the presence of O–H stretching with
inter-molecular hydrogen bonding (Swaminathan et al. 2009a). Also the presence of a weak band
10 A. BALAJI ET AL.

Figure 10. Photomicrographs of a Cardanol - epoxy/ bagasse-fiber composite fracture surfaces of a sample subjected to flexural
strength, for (a) Neat polymer (0 wt%), (b&c) 5 wt%, (d&e) 10 wt%, (f&g) 15 wt% and (h & i) 20 wt% (Column I & II represents 10 &
20 mm fiber length composites respectively).
 JOURNAL OF NATURAL FIBERS 11

Figure 11. FT-IR spectra of (a) 10 mm length fiber composites & (b) 20 mm length fiber composites.

around 3700 cm−1 indicates the presence of small amount hydrogen bond free O–H group in the
composite which was attributed the presence of cardanol resin (Swaminathan et al. 2009b). A very
strong peak and a medium band observed around 2900 and 2800 cm−1 indicates CH2 stretching in
the composites. The strong peaks around 1600 to 1400 cm−1 shows the presence of saturated and
unsaturated C–C stretching frequency. Another strong and weak bands around 1200 and 1100 cm−1
indicates the existence of C–O stretching frequency and C–O–C ether linkage in the composites
(Ramalingam et al. 2008). A medium band observed around 1000 cm−1 shows the presence of
aromatic C–H out-plane bending vibration. The peaks observed in the range 800–700 cm−1 strength-
ens the existence of C–C–C in-plane bending of aromatic ring present in the composites.

Thermal analyses
Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) results of all the (0–20 wt% of fiber) samples were given in
Figure 12(a) and 13(a) and the temperature range of 0–700°C in nitrogen atmosphere. TGA is
commonly used to determine the selected materials that exhibit either mass loss or gain due to
decomposition, oxidation, or loss of volatiles. Figure 12(a) represents the TGA curves of all wt% of
10mm fiber length composites. TGA curve shows that the onset of thermal degradation for the
composite which does not occur before 250°C, whilst the initial weight loss (~8%) between 50 and
250°C corresponds to the vaporization of absorbed moisture content from the composites. Above
this temperature, thermal stability is gradually decreasing and decomposition of fibers occurs. The
12 A. BALAJI ET AL.

Figure 12. (a) TGA and (b) DTG curves for 10 mm length fiber composites (0 – 20 wt%).

next weight loss ~73% between 250 and 450°C was due to the thermal decomposition of the fibers
(Chollakup et al. 2011; Ghetti, Ricca, and Angelini 1996). The same trend was also observed in
20mm fiber length composites shown in Figure 13(a).
The Differential Thermogravimetry (DTG) curve for 10 mm composites shown in Figure 12b
exhibits the endothermic and exothermic peaks. The exothermic peak appeared at 400°C in decom-
position of fiber material and the endothermic peak was appeared at 375°C. Similarly, the DTG
curve for 20 mm composites, Figure 13(b), exhibits the endothermic and exothermic peaks. The
exothermic peak appeared at 400°C in decomposition of fiber material. The endothermic peak was
appeared at 475°C.

Conclusions
The chemically (NaOH) treated short bagasse fiber was successfully reinforced with cardanol epoxy
resin with various wt% of the fiber. Neat polymer (0 wt%) composites and other wt% composites
were characterized through tensile, flexural, and hardness test, TGA, and FT-IR spectroscopy
 JOURNAL OF NATURAL FIBERS 13

Figure 13. (a) TGA and (b) DTG curves for 20 mm length fiber composites (0 – 20 wt %).

analyses. The flexural fracture surface morphology was evaluated by the SEM study. From the above
analyses, some of the important conclusions are given below:

● The tensile and flexural strengths linearly increases up to 15 wt% of both 10 and 20 mm fiber
length composites where 20 mm fiber length composites have obtained maximum strength.
The hardness strength shows an increasing trend with increase in fiber content.
● SEM observation revealed the improvement of adhesion between fiber and matrix in the
biocomposites and resulted in more homogeneous nature, which results in the increase of
mechanical strength and resistant to thermal decomposition materials.
● A comparative FT-IR analysis of various weight percentages (0, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%) of 10
and 20 mm composites shows the presence of more intermolecular hydrogen bonding which
attributes the strength of the composites.
● TGA indicated that 15 wt% fiber composites had a higher thermal stability and degradation
temperature than other wt% composites.
14 A. BALAJI ET AL.

ORCID
C Sundar Raj http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9897-510X

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