Effect of alkali treatment of Salacca Zalacca fiber (SZF) on mechanical properties of HDPE composite reinforced with SZF

Advanced developments of design and structure industries require modern material which both complies with green environment issues to reduce non-renewable resources, and also has the prospect to be fundamental material. The aim of the research was to investigate the interaction between alkali treated of Salacca Zalacca Fiber (SZF) and High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) by using microscopic examination, chemical analysis, contact angle test, interfacial shear strength and flexural tests of composites. SZF was chemically treated using a 5% NaOH solution for 0, 1, 2,3, 4, and 5 h to modify the fiber's properties. Chemical analysis shows that hemicellulose was decomposed after alkalization-ray diffraction found that the crystalline index (CrI) was changed as a result of alkalization. Micrograph observations by scanning electron microscope (SEM) show the complete impurities removal and revealed the parallelly aligned cellulose microfibrils, while atomic force microscopy (AFM) result shows the decrease of surface roughness as seen in 2D roughness and 3D surface topography. Contact angle measurement was found that the contact angle decreases with increased treatment time which indicated the improvement on SZF wettability. From the IFSS test, it was found that the overall fiber-matrix adhesion of the composite was improved with peak adhesion obtained after 5-hour treatment. (C) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University.