Mechanical, surface morphological, and thermal properties of Musa acuminate peduncles fiber reinforced polyester composites: Fiber loading and alkalization impact

摘要

Abstract The current study focuses on treated and untreated Musa acuminate peduncles fiber (MAPFs) reinforced polyester composites for lightweight application. For the first time, the impact of alkali treatment and fiber weight fraction on the mechanical, thermal, and morphological characteristics of MAPFs bonded polyester composites have been examined. The fiber from 0 to 25 wt% (alkali‐treated and raw) was reinforced with polyester matrix in compression/hand lay method. At 20 wt% of fiber, significant improvements in tensile strength (40.97 MPa), tensile modulus (1.18 GPa), impact (72.68 J/m), flexural strength (63.54 MPa) and flexural modulus (2.16 GPa) were recorded, whereas beyond reduces the properties. Following tensile testing, the fractured cross‐sections of the composite were investigated using scanning electron microscope, which demonstrated that the alkali‐treated MAPFs reinforced polyester composite had fewer voids and better fiber bonding. Thermogravimetric and atomic force microscopy analysis show that alkali‐treated MAPFs are a viable reinforcement for polyester matrix due to higher degradation temperature and surface roughness observations.