Mechanical and tribological properties of abaca-roselle/cardanol formaldehyde hybrid composites

The demand for development of new materials to meet the challenges for ingenious applications in the scientific and technical areas is quite essential in recent days. Many of the composites of hydrophilic natural fibers with hydrophobic synthetic polymers suffer from the lack of strong interfacial adhesion between them. To overcome this difficulty, the present study aimed to blend a natural fiber with biopolymer to fabricate bio-hybrid composite. For this purpose, cardanol formaldehyde resin (CFR) as a matrix, biodegradable and biocompatible was chosen. Functionalized abaca and roselle fibers are used as reinforcement fillers to enhance the thermal and mechanical characteristics of the films fabricated by compression moulding method. Hybridization of abaca fiber with roselle fiber has improved the hardness, tensile and density of the matrix. The tribological property of biodegradable hybrid composites is studied using a pin-on-disc tool to carryout sliding wear behaviour. Surface morphology is examined by SEM to understand the surface morphology of the composites. The CFR/10% (abaca-roselle) bio-hybrid composite was improved wear resistance used in the development of homemade applications. (paper)