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Influence of alkali-treated and raw Zanthoxylum acanthopodium fibers on the mechanical, water resistance, and morphological behavior of polymeric composites for lightweight applications

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Abstract

Presently, novel materials based on natural fibers are emerging daily to replace synthetic fibers in various engineering disciplines, as they minimize environmental pollution, allow for easy processing, provide superior strength, and promote industrial sustainability. The global demand for novel eco-friendly fibers for composites has paved the way for this work. This work uses epoxy as a matrix material, and polymer composites with reinforcement from untreated and alkali-treated Zanthoxylum acanthopodium bark fibers (5–25 wt.%). Hand lay-up was used in the development of the epoxy composites. The mechanical characteristics and water absorption rates of the produced epoxy composites were evaluated following ASTM standards. Epoxy composites containing 20 wt.% of alkali-treated Zanthoxylum acanthopodium bark fibers had excellent mechanical qualities, including an ultimate tensile strength of 47.3 MPa, according to the test findings. However, there was a positive correlation between fiber loading and water absorption. The fiber bonding and void properties of the investigated composites were viewed with a scanning electron microscope.

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Data Availability

The data supporting this study’s findings are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.

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Funding

This research was funded by the King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok with Grant No. KMUTNB-Post-66-01.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Natural Composites Research Group Lab, Department of Materials and Production Engineering, The Sirindhorn International Thai-German School of Engineering (TGGS), King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok (KMUTNB), Bangkok, Thailand

    Vijay Raghunathan, Vinod Ayyappan, Sanjay Mavinkere Rangappa & Suchart Siengchin

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, K.Ramakrishnan College of Engineering, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India

    Jafrey Daniel James Dhilip

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, P.S.R Engineering College, Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu, India

    D. Sundarrajan

Authors
  1. Vijay Raghunathan
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  2. Vinod Ayyappan
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  3. Jafrey Daniel James Dhilip
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  4. D. Sundarrajan
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  5. Sanjay Mavinkere Rangappa
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Contributions

Vijay Raghunathan: conceptualization, investigation, methodology, writing original draft, visualization, and data curation. Vinod Ayyappan: investigation, visualization, and support for data interpretation. Jafrey Daniel James Dhilip: conceptualization, investigation, methodology, visualization, and support for data interpretation. D. Sundarrajan: conceptualization, validation, visualization, and data curation. Sanjay Mavinkere Rangappa: conceptualization, investigation, methodology, supervision, writing original draft, visualization and data curation, writing—review & editing. Suchart Siengchin: resources, conceptualization, validation, writing—review & editing, supervision, funding acquisition.

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Correspondence to Sanjay Mavinkere Rangappa.

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Raghunathan, V., Ayyappan, V., Dhilip, J.D.J. et al. Influence of alkali-treated and raw Zanthoxylum acanthopodium fibers on the mechanical, water resistance, and morphological behavior of polymeric composites for lightweight applications. Biomass Conv. Bioref. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-023-04240-7

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