Influence of Chemical Treatment on the Microstructural Properties of Sida acuta Natural Fiber

In the current work, we have extracted a natural fiber, Sida acuta and investigated the effects of chemical treatment on the surface of the fibers. The chemicals such as ammonia, sodium hydroxide, decyl, and dodecyl are used to treat the fibers. The treatment is carried out at different stirring times to realize the effectiveness of the enhancing surface roughness of the natural fiber. From the results, it was observed that sodium hydroxide has disrupted the surface to a larger magnitude, thus enabling the mechanical interlocking feasibility on the fiber surface. To realize in detail, we have investigated their characteristics such as bonding, surface morphology, and thermal stability through FTIR, SEM, and DTG characterizations. The future work is expected to carry out on the combination metal fillers to enhance the interfacial strength of the bonding of composites.