Characterization of Urena lobata Fibers after Alkaline Treatment for Use in Polymer Composites

In this work, treated and untreated Urena lobata fibers were characterized for use in polymer composites. The Urena lobata fibers were extracted by the water retting method and treated with 6 wt% NaOH solution. The influence of the alkaline treatment was characterized by chemical analysis, tensile tests, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). It was observed from the results of the chemical analysis that cellulose (59.85 ± 0.03%), hemicelluloses (15.47 ± 0.015%) and acid-insoluble lignin (26.13 ± 0.027%) increased, while there was a reduction in acid-soluble lignin (23.01 ± 0.015%) and ash (0.57 ± 0.01%). The treated fibers showed enhanced mechanical and structural properties than the untreated fibers due to more exposure of the crystalline cellulose in the treated fibers. The results compared well with other established natural fibers used for polymer matrix composite developments.