Fabrication and study of lignocellulosic Hibiscus sabdariffa fiber reinforced polymer composites

Fabrication of polymer composites reinforced with lignocellulosic materials has increased considerably during the last few years. This work reports the synthesis of natural fiber reinforced phenol-formaldehyde (PF) resin matrix based polymer composite using a compression molding technique. Initially the PF resin was prepared by varying the concentration of formaldehyde with a fixed weight of phenol. Polymeric resin of different P: F ratios were subjected for optimization of their mechanical properties. The sample ratio of 1:1.5 (P: F) was found to possess maximum mechanical strength. Then reinforcing of this optimized resin was done by taking different ratios of Hibiscus Sabdariffa (HS) fiber in short form (3mm) to prepare green polymer composites. Polymer composite materials thus prepared were subjected to evaluation of their mechanical properties such as tensile strength, compressive strength, flexural strength, and wear resistance, etc. Optimum mechanical properties were obtained with a fibre loading of 30%.Thermal (TGA/DTA/DTG) and morphological studies (SEM) of the polymeric resin, and composites thus synthesized have also been studied. The results obtained suggest that these fibers can be a superior candidate for the reinforcement of high performance polymer composites.