Chemical treatment of curaua fibres and its effect on the mechanical performance of fibre/polyester composites

This study investigated the influence of the surface treatment of curaua fibres (Ananas erectifolius) on the morphological, thermal and mechanical properties of polyester composites when the treated fibres (10 wt-%) were added. The following treatment agents were assessed: 10% Ba(OH)(2), 14% Ca(OH)(2), 5% NaOH, 10% KOH and 5% silane. The treatments removed amorphous components, thereby increasing the crystallinity of the fibres. Among the alkali treatments, KOH gave the highest crystallinity index (67.09%), Ca(OH)(2) had the best tensile strength (19 MPa) and Ca(OH)(2) treatment resulted in the highest composite thermal stability (315 degrees C). Fibres treated with Ba(OH)(2) resulted in the composite with the greatest resistance to impact (55 vs 10 J m(-1) for the neat matrix). Finally, the silane-treated fibres resulted in composites with a better performance than the other treatments. There was a prominent pattern of improved performance for the silane-treated fibre composites in all the analyses performed in this study.