Natural fiber-reinforced composites gained considerable interest in the scientific community due to their eco-friendly nature, cost-effective, and excellent mechanical properties. Here, we reported a chemical modification of kenaf fiber using propionic anhydride to enhance the compatibility with the epoxy matrix. The incorporation of the modified woven and nonwoven kenaf fibers into the epoxy matrix resulted in the improvement of the thermal and mechanical properties of the composite. The thermal stability of the epoxy composites was enhanced from 403°C to 677°C by incorporating modified woven kenaf fibers into the epoxy matrix. The modified and unmodified woven kenaf fiber-reinforced epoxy composites had a tensile strength of 64.11 and 58.82 MPa, respectively. The modified woven composites had highest flexural strength, which was 89.4 MPa, whereas, for unmodified composites, it was 86.8 MPa. The modified woven fiber-reinforced epoxy composites showed the highest value of flexural modulus, which was 6.0 GPa compared to unmodified woven composites (5.51 GPa). The impact strength of the epoxy composites was enhanced to 9.43 kJ m⁻² by the incarnation of modified woven kenaf fibers into epoxy matrix. This study will be an effective platform to design the chemical modification strategy on natural fibers for enhancing the compatibility toward the hydrophobic polymer matrices.

天然纤维增强复合材料由于其环保特性，成本效益和出色的机械性能而在科学界引起了广泛兴趣。在这里，我们报道了使用丙酸酐对洋麻纤维进行化学改性，以增强与环氧基质的相容性。将改性的机织和非织造洋麻纤维掺入环氧基质中导致复合材料的热和机械性能的改善。通过将改性机织洋麻纤维掺入环氧基质中，环氧复合材料的热稳定性从403°C增至677°C。改性和未改性的洋麻纤维增强环氧复合材料的拉伸强度分别为64.11和58.82 MPa。改性机织复合材料的弯曲强度最高，为89.4 MPa，而未改性的复合材料为86.8 MPa。改性的机织纤维增强环氧复合材料显示出最高的挠曲模量值，与未改性的机织复合材料（5.51 GPa）相比为6.0 GPa。环氧复合材料的冲击强度提高到9.43 kJ m^－2通过将改性的洋麻纤维化身成环氧基质。该研究将是设计天然纤维化学改性策略的有效平台，以增强与疏水性聚合物基质的相容性。