The influence of chemical treatment on the mechanical properties of windmill palm fiber

Abstract

Bleached palm fiber without lignin, alkalized palm fiber without hemicelluloses and raw windmill palm fiber were prepared. Then, the chemical composition and the mechanical properties of the windmill palm fiber were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Raman microscopy were employed to characterize the structure and chemical composition. A universal material tester, nanoindentation and dynamic mechanical analysis were used to study the mechanical property of these samples. According to the results, bleach treatment removed most of the silica bodies as well as the lignin, smoothed the fiber surfaces and increased the hollowness to 50%. Alkali treatment removed most of the hemicelluloses, increased the surface roughness, and reduced the hollowness to 28%. Alkalized fibers have the highest tensile strength, elongation at break and elastic modulus, with values of 119.37 ± 27.21 MPa, 30.58 ± 5.87% and 10.75 ± 4.30 GPa, respectively. The raw material without treatment has the highest stiffness, while the alkalized samples are the most flexible fibers and sensitive to temperature.