Silane treatment of bagasse fiber for reinforcement of cementitious composites

Silane coating of fibers is a promising process for improving durability and adhesion of vegetable fibers used as reinforcement material in a cementitious matrix. The work presented in this paper gives an insight into the effect of combining pyrolysis treatment with silane treatment. Indeed, this study focuses on silane treatment of unpyrolyzed and pyrolyzed sugar cane bagasse fibers with an alkyltrialkoxysilane (RSi(OR')(3)), S-1 or a dialkyldialkoxysilane (R2Si(OR '')(2)), S-2. The silane solutions used vary from 0.5% to 8% by volume. This paper describes the effect of two silane compounds on parameters such as the porosity, dimension, morphology and hygroscopic character of silane-coated sugar cane bagasse fibers. Preliminary studies on natural fiber reinforced composite setting time show the importance of the silane chemistry/structure, for fiber treatments with silane solution containing up to 6% ( volume percent) silane. In the case of composites reinforced with unpyrolyzed bagasse fibers, setting time increases with silane coating. Combining pyrolysis and silane treatment improve the water resistance of the fibers, which become more hydrophobic. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.