Processing and Characteristics Evaluation of Polyester Resin Nanocomposite Synthesized with Natural Fiber

Polymer composites are a significant choice and have been adopted in recent automotive, electrical and electronic applications because they are lightweight, have superior optical behavior, thermal stability, good corrosion resistance, and are economical. The natural fiber-made composite found mechanical and thermal behavior variations due to its poor adhesive nature. The research aims to develop the alkali-treated natural Pinatex fiber (PF) blended polyester nanocomposite through hand layup. Finally, the synthesized composite contained 0, 4, 8, and 12 wt% of alkali-treated chopped PF with 3–5 mm length. The influences of PF on the density, tensile, and flexural strength of the developed composites are evaluated. Its investigational results observed that the polyester nanocomposite consisting of 12 wt% chopped natural PF has an optimum density (1.26 g/cc), superior tensile strength (46.78 MPa) and good flexural strength (53.15 MPa) related to 0 wt% polyester resin nanocomposite. This nanocomposite is suggested for automotive and optics applications.