Effect of nanoparticles in natural fiber reinforced polymer composites

Abstract

Fiber surface modifications by chemical treatment and matrix modification with nanofillers are two key techniques used in recent times to improve the natural fiber reinforced polymer composite strength. The impact of titanium dioxide (TiO2), magnesium oxide (MgO), and zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles on the mechanical properties of 6% sodium hydroxide alkali treated kenaf fiber reinforced epoxy composites has been experimentally examined and reported in this research article. All the composite samples were fabricated using vacuum bagging technique, with 35% Fiber weight ratio. The nanofillers were added in 3% weight proportion of total composite weight using ultrasonication method. According to ASTM standards, the prepared samples were evaluated for tensile, flexural, and impact strength. The experimental results showed that, 6% NaOH treatment on kenaf fibers showed 11.2%, 24.9%, 8.4%, and 28.7% improvement on tensile strength, modulus, flexural and impact strength respectively. The addition of different nano particles in the matrix phase performed well on effective stress transfer between fiber layers through matrix layers, hence improvement on mechanical properties were noted.