Effects of E-beam treatment on the interfacial and mechanical properties of henequen/polypropylene composites

In the present study, chopped henequen natural fibers without and with surface modification by electron beam (E-beam) treatment were incorporated into a polypropylene matrix. Prior to composite fabrication, a bundle of raw henequen fibers were treated at various E-beam intensities from 10 kGy to 500 kGy. The effect of E-beam intensity on the interfacial, mechanical and thermal properties of randomly oriented henequen/polypropylene composites with the fiber contents of 40 vol% was investigated focusing on the interfacial shear strength, flexural and tensile properties, dynamic mechanical properties, thermal stability, and fracture behavior. Each characteristic of the material strongly depended on the E-beam intensity irradiated, showing an increasing or decreasing effect. The present study demonstrates that henequen fiber surfaces can be modified successfully with an appropriate dosage of electron beam and use of a low E-beam intensity of 10 kGy results in the improvement of the interfacial properties, flexural properties, tensile properties, dynamic mechanical properties and thermal stability of henequen/polypropylene composites.