Influence of Fiber Surface Modification on the Mechanical Performance of Isora-Polyester Composites

This paper reports the effect of chemical treatment on the mechanical properties of a natural fiber, isora, as reinforcement in unsaturated polyester resin. Isora fiber is separated from the bark of the Helicteres isora plant by a retting process. The short isora fiber surface was modified chemically by acetylation, benzoylation, silane and triton treatments to bring about improved interfacial interaction between the fiber and the polyester matrix. The modified surfaces were characterized by IR spectroscopy and SEM. The SEM studies were carried out to investigate the fiber surface morphology, fiber pull-out and fiber-polyester interface bonding. They showed the changes occuring on the fiber surface during chemical treatment. Properties like tensile strength, flexural strength and impact strength have been studied. The chemical modification of fiber improved fiber/matrix interaction as evidenced by the enhanced tensile and flexural properties. The lower impact properties of the composites, except triton-treated fiber composite, further point to the improved fiber/matrix adhesion, compared to the untreated fiber composites.