Influence of fiber chemical modification procedure on the mechanical properties and water absorption of MaterBi-Y/sisal fiber composites

In this work, the effect of the two most used fiber treatments: acetylation and alkaline-treatment and its variables: time and temperature for one constant concentration of catalyst, on the final properties of MaterBi-Y/sisal fiber composites was studied. It was demonstrated that this kind of treatments leads to several morphological changes like voids creation and fiber fibrillation. Acetylation for 1 h is an acceptable option when lower water uptake amount is let or high impact energy is required. On the other hand, alkaline treatment for two days at room temperature and 5% w/v NaOH leads to the highest flexural properties with high impact performance and low changes in the water uptake amount. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.