Characterization of alkali treated and untreated Abutilon indicum FIBERS

The primary objective of this study is to characterize Abutilon indicum stem Fibres (AIF) obtained through the water retting method. The fundamental attributes were investigated for untreated and alkali-treated AIFs, including physical and chemical properties, thermal stability as determined by thermogravimetric analysis, functional groups as identified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), crystalline properties as determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, surface roughness as assessed by atomic force microscopy (AFM), and surface textures as determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. Results convey that, the surface-modified fibers upon alkali treatment exhibit an increase in cellulose composition from 56.12 % to 65.43 % and a reduction in hemi-cellulose, lignin, moisture and wax content. Such a higher composition of cellulose content in the fibers influenced the surface roughness, crystalline size and crystalline index (CI) which thereby indicates the presence of Cellulose III1 and other crystallites arranged in order over the alkali-treated AIFs. Alkali treatment increased the degradation temperature and thermal stability from 1750 C to 2020 C and 302.60 C to 3400 C, respectively. From the above-mentioned test results, it is evident that the surface-modified AIFs from alkali treatment provided more desired results than the untreated counterparts. [Display omitted] •Alkaline-treated Abutilon Indicum fibers show increased cellulose (56.12% to 65.43%) and reduced lignin, hemicellulose, moisture.•Thermal stability improves post-treatment with degradation temp rising from 175°C to 202°C and max decomposition temp from 302.6°C to 340°C.•Treated fibers exhibit higher surface roughness, enhancing texture and interfacial bonding potential with polymer matrices.•Crystallinity index rises from 77.35% to 78.52%, and crystalline size increases in treated fibers compared to untreated fibers.