Characterization of Silane-Treated and Untreated Natural Fibers from Stem of Leucas Aspera

In recent years, natural fiber and its composites have attracted researchers due to environmental awareness. It is essential to identify new cellulose fibers for the potential polymer reinforcement. The current study deals with the investigation of natural cellulosic fibers extracted from the stem of Leucas aspera plants. The obtained fibers were treated with silane for effective use in composite applications. The physical, chemical, crystallinity, thermal stability, and morphological characteristics were analyzed for both untreated and silane-treated Leucas aspera fibers using chemical analysis, X-Ray diffraction test, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and SEM images. The results showed that silane treatment removed excess lignin, wax and hemicellulose contents from Leucas aspera fibers and helped to increase its bonding characteristics with the matrix in composite applications leading to enhanced results compared to the untreated samples. There was a 2.1 times increase in crystalline index and better thermal stability with a char residue of 39%. To prove the applications' suitability, epoxy composites and friction composites in the form of brake pads were developed and analyzed for their mechanical performance as per ASTM and standard industrial practice. Increase in ultimate tensile strength was 56 MPa for silane-treated Leucas aspera fiber based epoxy composites while it was 43 MPa compared to its untreated samples. In brake pads, hardness was 93 for silane-treated LA fiber-based brake pads and 87 for the untreated.