Characterization of Optimally Alkali-treated Natural Cellulosic Fiber Extracted from the Stem of Cissus Vitiginea Plant

New novel natural fibers are being identified and reported to the research community in the recent decades. Selective techniques to modify the properties of natural fibers have also been focused and investigated. In the present work, Cissus vitiginea stem fibers (CVSF) have been chosen and optimally treated using aqueous alkali solution and tested for the improvement in the The treated C. vitiginea has been characterized to report the essential properties such as physical properties, crystalline properties, chemical composition, thermal stability characteristics, etc., The chemical composition analysis revealed that the cellulose contents in the treated CVSF has been increased by 10.71% after the treatment. The crystallinity index value of the treated CVSF (38.43%) got improved by 26% over the raw fibers as a result of the alkali treatment. The tensile strength of the treated CVSF has been reported as 376.4 +/- 13 MPa. The elimination of the wax and other impurities from the surface of the fibers has been confirmed using the SEM micrographs. The results of all the carried out experimentation confirmed that the properties of the CVSF have got significantly improved, and the treated CVSF can be suggested to be used for making thermo and thermo set plastic green composites.