Alkali treatment influence on cellulosic fiber from Furcraea foetida leaves as potential reinforcement of polymeric composites

Abstract

The present study explores the potential of the alkali-treated Furcraea foetida (FF) fibers as reinforcement materials in polymeric composites. The fibers were treated and soaked for 3 h in an alkali solution of different concentrations (3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 wt.%). The untreated and alkali-treated fibers were characterized, and their physical and mechanical properties were determined. The results revealed that the 9 wt.% alkali-treated FF fiber yielded superior mechanical strength and Young's modulus because of its relatively high cellulose fraction after removing non-cellulosic materials. The twisting behavior and increasing microfibril angle of the FF fiber were attributed to a non-linear region in the stress–strain curves after the alkali treatment. The Fourier-transform infrared and X-ray diffraction studies endorsed the removal of non-cellulosic materials on optimally treated fiber. Thermogravimetric analysis of the 9 wt.% alkali-treated FF fiber confirmed the increase in the degradation temperature (358 °C) and activation energy (145.29 kJ/mol). Scanning electron microscopy results confirmed that the fiber surface roughness is proportional to the alkali solution concentration. Then the results were compared with others previous studies. Thus, treating FF fibers with optimized alkali concentration at specified soaking period can enhance their performance as a viable reinforcement material in polymeric composites for low-load applications.