This innovative work presents mechanical, physical and chemical characterization and analysis of newly extracted fiber from naturally resourced plant stem, named Spinifex littoreus fibers (SLF). This is a novel natural, biodegradable and sustainable reinforcement for an improved composite. Initially, the chemical constituents of SLF, such as cellulose, lignin, moisture and wax content were studied. The raw SLF surfaces were modified by chemical treatment with sodium hydroxide (NaOH), calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)₂) and silane. A polyester matrix was reinforced with all the treated SLF, before the mechanical properties (tensile strengths) of the composites were determined. Among all the surface chemically treated SLF/polyester composite samples, the Ca(OH)₂ treated sample exhibited the highest tensile strength. Further microscopic examination was carried out to validate this result. Also, this analysis established the mechanism of failure of the tensile fractured composite samples, using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), among other techniques.

中文翻译：

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新型木质纤维素斜ife纤维及其复合材料的表征

这项创新工作介绍了从自然资源植物茎中新提取的纤维（称为Spinifex littoreus纤维（SLF））的机械，物理和化学表征和分析。这是一种新型的天然，可生物降解和可持续的增强材料，用于改进复合材料。最初，研究了SLF的化学成分，例如纤维素，木质素，水分和蜡含量。通过用氢氧化钠（NaOH），氢氧化钙（Ca（OH）₂）和硅烷进行化学处理，对原始SLF表面进行了改性。在确定复合材料的机械性能（拉伸强度）之前，用所有处理过的SLF增强聚酯基质。在所有经过表面化学处理的SLF /聚酯复合样品中，Ca（OH）₂处理的样品表现出最高的拉伸强度。进行进一步的显微镜检查以验证该结果。此外，该分析还使用扫描电子显微镜（SEM）等技术建立了拉伸断裂复合材料样品的破坏机理。