A systematic investigation on the influence of the chemical treatment of natural fibers on the properties of their polymer matrix composites

This paper reports a systematic study of the effects on composite properties of different chemical treatments on natural fibers. Both short flax fibers and flax cellulose pulp in a polypropylene matrix have been investigated. The influence of treatments on fiber properties was investigated by means of spectroscopic, thermal and mechanical tests. Moreover, the effects of fiber treatment on the crystallinity of the matrix were analyzed using differential scanning calorimetry and optical microscopy. The mechanical properties of the composites obtained were studied using tensile and bending tests. It is shown that most of the main properties of the composites can be improved by adequately treating the fibers. The results of this study provide a database mainly devoted to material selection for the automotive industry. This research has been performed as a part of the ECOFINA project in the framework of the 5th European Research Program of the European Community. (C) 2004 Society of Plastics Engineers.