Significance of TiO₂ on the Mechanical Behavior of High-Density Polyethylene Nanocomposite Made with Pineapple Fiber

A natural fiber-made polymer composite is widespread in household, construction, sports, automotive, and aerospace applications due to its numerous properties, such as low specific weight, durability, and economics. However, this composite has low hardness and marginal improvement in tensile and flexural strength due to the high moisture content of natural fiber, resulting in low adhesive quality. The purpose of the investigation is to enrich the quality of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) composite by the addition of nano-titanium dioxide (TiO₂) as 0, 2, 4, and 6 wt% and 20 wt% of sodium hydroxide surface processed pineapple fiber (PF) via compression molding route with 10 MPa load. It results in high harness (58 ± 0.8 HV), superior tensile (54 ± 1 MPa), and impact strength of 14.6 ± 0.2 J/mm² which are noted in 6 wt% TiO₂ with 20 wt% of NaOH surface treated pineapple fiber. It will be recommended for automotive front cabinet applications.