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Banana stem fiber (BSF) reinforced low‐density polyethylene (PE) composites were prepared with a hot‐press molding machine in the presence of maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (MAPP). To achieve better mechanical properties, the fiber was chemically modified by bleaching, alkalization, and acetylation. The ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of the untreated and treated BSF composites were found to increase with increasing fiber loading up to 20%, whereas the maximum Charpy impact strength (IS) and flexural strength (FS) values were seen at 10% fiber loading; these values decreased thereafter. The Young's modulus (YM) values of the BSF composites increased sharply with fiber loading. All of the treated fibers exhibited better mechanical properties than the untreated ones. The acetylated fiber showed higher UTS (44 MPa), FS (50 MPa), and IS (12.5 j/m2) values than the other treated and untreated fibers. The improvements in the mechanical properties of the treated composites were further supported by scanning electron microscopy images of the fracture surfaces. The thermal stabilities of the composites were studied by means of thermogravimetry, differential thermogravimetry, and differential thermal analysis measurements. Hybrid composites composed of BSF (10 wt %), coir fiber (5 wt %), and a MAPP/low‐density PE matrix were prepared. Significant improvements in UTS, YM, FS, and IS were seen in the hybrid composites containing surface‐modified BSF. The effects of BSF composition on the composite properties were also studied. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013

Biocomposites based on poly(L-lactic acid) (PLA) and non-woven jute fabrics (NWJF) were fabricated by sandwiching non-woven jute mat between PLA sheets. First, composites were fabricated with various weight proportions of jute fabric (5, 10, 20, and 30 wt.%) with the PLA matrix, and the effect of fabric loading on their mechanical properties was investigated. Higher mechanical properties were found at 10 wt.% fabricloaded composite. The results show that the tensile, flexural, and impact strengths were increased by 61.7, 52.3, and 47.2%, respectively, as compared with neat PLA. In the second part, the jute fabrics were chemically treated with NaOH, NaClO2, acrylonitrile, acetic anhydride, KMnO4, diphenylmethane diisocyanate, and benzoyl chloride. The effect of chemical treatment on the mechanical and water absorption properties of NWJF/PLA biocomposites was studied. The mechanical properties of these biocomposites were found to be higher than those of untreated biocomposites. Among all the treatments, the combined alkalibenzoylated-treated fabric composite showed higher mechanical properties. The water absorption properties of these composites were found to be remarkably lower than those of untreated fibers. The interfacial adhesion between the fiber and the matrix was shown to increase with surface modification as revealed by SEM analysis.

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