Studies on mechanical, thermal and dynamic mechanical properties of untreated (raw) and treated coconut sheath fiber reinforced epoxy composites

Highlights: • UTCSE and TCSE composites have been fabricated by compression molding technique. • The prepared specimens were characterized by FTIR, DMA, TGA and SEM techniques. • TCSE composite showed higher mechanical properties compared to UTCSE composite. • DMA showed that TCSE composite exhibited higher storage modulus than UTCSE composite. • TCSE composite showed higher thermal stability than UTCSE composite. - Abstract: The untreated (raw) coconut sheath fiber reinforced epoxy (UTCSE) composite and treated coconut sheath fiber reinforced epoxy (TCSE) composite have been fabricated using hand layup followed by compression molding technique. The prepared specimens were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. The prepared specimens are cut as per ASTM Standards to measure tensile, flexural and impact strengths by using universal testing machine and izod impact tester respectively. The treated coconut sheath fiber reinforced epoxy composite (TCSE) posses higher mechanical strength and thermal stability compared to untreated (raw) coconut sheath fiber reinforced epoxy composite (UTCSE). In the SEM fracture analysis, TCSE composite showed better fiber–matrix bonding and absence of voids compared to UTCSE composite