Abstract
Plant fibers have become a highly sought-after material in the recent days as a result of raising environmental awareness and the realization of harmful effects imposed by synthetic fibers. Natural plant fibers have been widely used as fillers in fabricating plant-fibers-reinforced polymer composites. However, owing to the completely opposite nature of the plant fibers and polymer matrix, treatment is often required to enhance the compatibility between these two materials. Interfacial adhesion mechanisms are among the most influential yet seldom discussed factors that affect the physical, mechanical, and thermal properties of the plant-fibers-reinforced polymer composites. Therefore, this review paper expounds the importance of interfacial adhesion condition on the properties of plant-fiber-reinforced polymer composites. The advantages and disadvantages of natural plant fibers are discussed. Four important interface mechanism, namely interdiffusion, electrostatic adhesion, chemical adhesion, and mechanical interlocking are highlighted. In addition, quantifying and analysis techniques of interfacial adhesion condition is demonstrated. Lastly, the importance of interfacial adhesion condition on the performances of the plant fiber polymer composites performances is discussed. It can be seen that the physical and thermal properties as well as flexural strength of the composites are highly dependent on the interfacial adhesion condition.
Highlights
Every year, hundreds of studies regarding plant-fiber-reinforced polymer composites were published in various journals and the trend has been increased exponentially [1]
This review only focused on the pull-out testing for plant fiber polymer composites
Natural plant fibers have been recognized as a promising candidate in reinforcing and enhancing the properties of polymeric composites
Summary
Hundreds of studies regarding plant-fiber-reinforced polymer composites were published in various journals and the trend has been increased exponentially [1]. The application of plant fibers in polymer composites have drawn attention of many industry manufacturers [2]. Urgent call for ameliorating environmental impacts by reducing energy consumption and embedding biodegradability but retaining reasonable performances are the major driving forces for the development of plant-fiber-reinforced polymer composites. In comparison with synthetic fibers, plant fibers offered multiple advantages such as light weight, biodegradability, low price, and life-cycle superiority. Some drawbacks of plant fibers imposed challenges to the development and application of plant-fibersreinforced polymer composites. With the collaboration between researchers, properties of the plant-fiber-reinforced polymer composites is enhanced to a much greater extent
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