An investigation on thermal and chemical behavior of jute/hemp/flax fiber reinforced woven composites and its hybrids

Natural fiber has emerged as a viable alternative to synthetic fibers like glass, carbon, and Kevlar for the development of polymeric composites. Present study focused on Thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), Differential thermal analysis (DTA), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) of the reinforced fibers and developed composites. HR-X-Ray Diffraction of neat epoxy, jute, hemp, and flax fibers was also performed. For TGA, as the temperature increases up to 2500C, thermal degradation of all composites is higher as compared to the neat epoxy. Addition of natural fibers as reinforcement with epoxy matrix affects the transmittance peaks between 1000-1500 cm-1 and 1608-1738 cm-1 in FTIR spectra. The peaks transmittance between 1000-1500 cm-1 represents the chemical compositions of the fibers (hemicellulose, cellulose, lignin, and pectin) which are the necessary part of plant fibers. In X-ray diffraction, two sharp peaks appear at a diffraction angle of 21.40 and 14.80 for jute, hemp, and flax fibers. Peak at a diffraction angle (2Ɵ) of 26.30 represents α-cellulose and 14.260 represents non-cellulose material such as hemicellulose and lignin in fiber.