ABSTRACT

The new natural fiber was extracted from Agave gigantea leaf as a reinforcement in an environmentally friendly composite material. In this study, the leaves were chemically extracted using alkali treatment with NaOH concentrations of 0%, 2.5%, and 5% to obtain cellulose fibers. The alkali treated fibers were measured using the standard ASTM procedure and observations were carried out through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) characterization was conducted, and the crystallinity index and thermal stability of the fibers were tested. The results showed that there was an increase in cellulose content after the alkali treatment. Furthermore, the SEM observations indicated the presence of hemicellulose and ash within the natural raw fiber bundle, which later broke down into individual cellulose after alkalization. The FTIR characterization showed the removed aromatic group at wavenumber 1245 cm⁻¹ after alkali treatment. In addition, the crystallinity of the 5% NaOH alkali-treated fiber was 28% higher than that of the raw fiber. Finally, the thermogravimetric analysis showed that the superior thermal stability of the fiber was 345–363°C. From the results, it is evident that these novel fibers are suitable as reinforcement materials to prepare composites for various applications.

摘要

新的天然纤维是从龙舌兰中提取的叶作为环保复合材料中的增强材料。在本研究中，使用浓度为 0%、2.5% 和 5% 的 NaOH 碱处理对叶子进行化学提取，以获得纤维素纤维。使用标准 ASTM 程序测量碱处理过的纤维，并通过扫描电子显微镜 (SEM) 进行观察，进行傅里叶变换红外 (FTIR) 表征，并测试纤维的结晶度指数和热稳定性。结果表明，碱处理后纤维素含量增加。此外，SEM 观察表明天然原纤维束中存在半纤维素和灰分，在碱化后分解成单独的纤维素。^-1碱处理后。此外，5%NaOH碱处理纤维的结晶度比原纤维高28%。最后，热重分析表明该纤维的优异热稳定性为 345-363°C。从结果可以看出，这些新型纤维显然适合作为增强材料来制备用于各种应用的复合材料。