Superhydrophobic Modification of Sansevieria trifasciata Natural Fibres: A Promising Reinforcement for Wood Plastic Composites

Abstract

Sansevieria trifasciata fibre (STF) is a lignocellulosic material which could be utilised for reinforcement composites. Surface modification is often needed to improve the compatibility of hydrophilic STF and hydrophobic resin. In this study, treatments for natural fibres to attain superhydrophobic properties were carried out using silica nanoparticles and fluorosilane. Sansevieria trifasciata fibres (STF) were subjected to treatment by deposition of silica (SiO2) nanoparticles which were prepared by the sol-gel method, then followed by modification with fluorosilane, namely 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane (PFOTS). The presence of SiO2 nanoparticles and PFOTS were evaluated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX). The crystallisation properties and thermal behaviour of STF were studied through X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric (TGA) analysis, respectively. The hydrophobicity of STF was determined by water contact angle (WCA) measurement. The results show that nanoscale SiO2 particles were deposited on the STF surface, and PFOTS were covalently linked to them. The SiO2 nanoparticles provide surface roughness to the fibres, whereas the long-chain fluorine on PFOTS lowered the surface free energy, and their combination in these treatments has successfully modified the STF surface from hydrophilic into superhydrophobic with a WCA of 150° and sliding angle of less than 10°. Altogether, a non-toxic, simple, and promising method of imparting hydrophobicity on natural fibres was developed, opening new opportunities for these fibres as reinforcement for composite parts.

Origin and Nucleation Kinetics of Transcrystalline Layer in Bamboo fiber@nano‐TiO2/Polypropylene Composite

“…Nano-TiO 2 was a hydrophilic material whose surface contained abundant hydroxyl groups, making it easy to interact with water. [38] Therefore, the deposition of nano-TiO 2 on the fiber increased the g p s of BF@TiO 2 . Similarly, the g p s of nano-silica deposited on the basalt fiber surface increased from 12.80 to 20.45 mN m À 1 .…”

Extraction and characterization of fiber from the flower stalk of Sansevieria cylindrica

“…In the conventional combing technique, Sansevieria cylindrica plant stems (Figure 2) were collected and immersed in water for a period of 20 to 25 days, after which a delicate wire brush was employed to comb them into fibers. Subsequently, the fibers were dried for 2 days in the sun to remove any residual moisture (Palanisamy et al 2022c; Mohd Aref et al 2023).…”

“…Moreover, the Sansevieria family is generally considered suitable for the production of textiles due to its large number of fibers (around 700) obtainable from a single leaf and limited variation of diameters (Abdullah et al 2020;Palanisamy et al 2021a). Roughness measurements may also prove of interest in future exploitation of the superhydrophobic characteristics of Sansevieria fibers, as reported by Mohd Aref et al (2023). This is especially important for some types of applications related to the automotive industry, such as for use in brake pads, a function that has been proposed for a number of natural fibers, as per a recent review (Ammar et al 2023;Goutham et al 2023).…”

Superhydrophobic Non-Metallic Surfaces with Multiscale Nano/Micro-Structure: Fabrication and Application

“…The sol-gel method stands as a prevalent technique for the preparation of wet chemical materials [51]. In this process, the precursor undergoes hydrolysis in the liquid phase, leading to the formation of a gel system through the condensation polymerization of colloidal particles [52,53]. Then, the nano-particles in the gel system can be adsorbed on the substrate, forming a thin film combined with the surface of the substrate material [54][55][56].…”