Examination of characteristic features of raw and alkali-treated cellulosic plant fibers from Ventilago maderaspatana for composite reinforcement

The influence of alkali treatment on the specific properties of cellulosic plant fibers from Ventilago maderaspatana (VMF) was analyzed in this research . The VMF treated with 5 (w/v) % sodium hydroxide for 60 min was found as optimally alkalized VMF since that offered the utmost properties by concentrating cellulosic macromolecular fraction (56.12 ± 5.42 wt.% 67.64 ± 4.24 wt.%) of the fiber. The diameter (89.27 ± 6.18 to 76.46 ± 5.22 μm) of the optimally alkalized fiber was decreased, whereas the density was slightly increased from 1236 ± 18.42 to 1242 ± 16.13 kg/m 3 , which was due to the elimination of lignin and wax content of the fiber. Improvement in the cellulose fraction directly enhanced the crystallinity index (25.88 to 28.21%) and cellulose degradation temperature (335 to 349 °C) of optimally alkalized VMF. The contamination-free surface was then captured in the scanning electron microscopic (SEM) analysis of optimally alkalized VMF. The tensile testing results delivered that optimally alkalized VMF has the tensile strength and modulus of 408.4 ± 11.2 MPa and 14.88 ± 0.974 GPa, respectively. Weibull results conveyed that raw and optimally alkalized cellulosic fiber extracted from Ventilago maderaspatana plant can be utilized as reinforcing material in its raw or alkali treated form for composite fabrication.