Waste coconut leaf sheath as reinforcement composite material with phenol-formaldehyde matrix

This article describes the development and characterization of mercerized and untreated naturally woven waste coconut leaf sheath (CLS) fiber-reinforced phenol-formaldehyde (PF) composites. The composites of CLS fiber with 60% and 40% PF were manufactured hand lay technique followed by compression molding method. The investigation of composites was performed by applying tensile, bending, impact test, and measurements of water absorption rate and biodegradability characteristics. The CLS was mercerized using 5% of NaOH. The results confirm the superiority in mechanical properties of treated CLS fiber composites in respect to the untreated ones. The better properties are driven by lower hydrophilic hydroxyl groups and reduced impurities detected on the CLS fibers, which in turn reveals stronger adhesion and superior compatibility between CLS fiber and PF matrix. The rate of water absorption was evaluated within four different types of water conditions such as normal water, bore, distilled, and sea water, respectively. A degradation test was carried to determine biodegradability properties of composites. The superior results of treated CLS fiber composites validate this composite as a good candidate material for domestic and structural applications.