The Influence of Alkaline Surface Fibre Treatment on the Impact Properties of Sugar Palm Fibre-Reinforced Epoxy Composites

The aim of this study is to determine the impact properties of sugar palm fibre-reinforced epoxy polymer composite after introduce the alkaline treatment to the fibre. The fibre was treated by alkaline solution with 0.25M and 0.5M NaOH solution for 1 hour, 4 hours, and 8 hours soaking time. Hand lay up process was used to prepare the composite specimens with 10% volume fraction. The dimensions of the specimen used to carry out the test were adapted from ASTM D256 for Izod Impact testing. The higher impact strength of treated sugar palm fibre reinforced epoxy composite took place at 0.5M NaOH solution with 8 hours soaking time, i.e., 60J/m with improving by 12.85% from untreated composite.