
88 Green Composites from Natural Resources
of interfacial bonding between ber and matrix due to the reduced hydrophilicity in
ber; and (3) the increase of mechanical bonding because of ber surface roughness
(Wang et al. 2011).
The acetylation-treated samples had the highest exural strength among the
tested samples. This might be because the acetylation treatment had an additional
etching function to the ber surface. Non-uniform etching increased surface rough-
ness and ber/matrix contact area.
It was observed that alkali + acetylation treatment has a slightly higher
flexural strength than the single alkali treatment but lower than the single ...