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Abstract

Plant fibers (ramie, jute, sisal, kenaf, etc.) reinforced composites (PFRCs) have raised great attentions during the past decade and have been increasingly used in automotive, infrastructure, sports, etc., and even caused great interests in aerospace industry. Tremendous research work has been carried out towards improving the mechanical and realizing the functional properties of PFRCs. In recent years, the unique hierarchical microstructures of plant fibers are given special attentions and are realized to be quite essential for the properties of PFRCs, including mechanical properties, functional characteristics, and even the manufacturing qualities. The performances of PFRCs can be further improved by taking advantage of the unique microstructures of plant fibers. Therefore, in this review, the recent development of the properties, manufacturing, and applications of PFRCs with the consideration of the hierarchical microstructure of plant fibers are extensively discussed. The microstructure of plant fibers and the so caused multi-scaled interfaces of PFRCs are elaborated and the resultant methods, such as nanotechnology and hybridization techniques to improve the mechanical properties of PFRCs are discussed. Functional properties, including flammability, acoustic, damping, etc., are also extensively analyzed. Additive manufacturing and liquid molding process to make PFRCs with the emphasis on the defect formation mechanisms caused by the hierarchical microstructure of the composites are reviewed. The recent state-of-the-art researches in other high-performance cellulose-based materials by using the microfibrils-the smallest structure of the plant fibers are introduced. The review is expected to give a new insight to the researches on hierarchical materials and structures and hierarchical mechanics.