Comparison Polyester Composites Mechanical Properties with Natural Sisal and Surface Treated with Inverted Sucrose

Abstract

The growing demand for raw materials to meet the needs of consumer society has motivated numerous researchers in the search for new alternative materials. In addition, the extraction of non-renewable natural resources associated with the generation of waste has raised an eminent concern in the substitution of more renewable and environmentally friendly resources. In this context, plant fibers are presented as promising materials for the construction of new composites. Its physical and chemical properties, in addition to natural and renewable resources, make plant fibers promising materials for technological applications and replacement of materials used by the industrial sector. However, the chemical nature of plant fibers differs from most polymeric materials. This prevents a greater physical and chemical interaction between the fibers and the vast majority of polymeric resins. Due to this, many works used techniques that were studied to promote greater compatibilities between both materials. In this work, unsaturated polyester resin and sisal fibers were used for the construction of two types of composites. One using natural sisal fiber and the other with sisal fiber treated in inverted sucrose solution. The evaluation tests of the mechanical properties showed that the strength of the composite using treated sisal fibers was on average 60% higher.