Bioactive woven flax-based composites: Development and characterisation

The natural fibre composites are potential alternative of glass fibre composites for structural applications, automobile and furniture industry, but these are susceptible to the bacterial attack. The current study aims to investigate the bio-functionality of composites using flax woven fabric reinforcement along with ZnO nanoparticles. The ZnO nanoparticles were synthesised by sol–gel method and added in different fractions to unsaturated polyester resin before impregnation of reinforcement. The composites were fabricated by vacuum bag moulding technique, and bioactivity was tested in terms of antibacterial activity (zone of inhibition). The ZnO nanoparticles imparted bioactivity to the composites even in the lowest amount (0.02% by weight). These bioactive composites will help to lower the risk for fibre degradation and enhance the service life of composite, by restricting the growth of bacteria.