Characterization of Phoenix sp. natural fiber as potential reinforcement of polymer composites

The present work deals with the identification of a new natural fiber from the Phoenix sp. plant and their characteristics were studied for preparing the fiber-reinforced polymer composites. This fiber was extracted by simple manual peeling process. Physico-chemical and mechanical properties are studied according to the standards. The morphology of the fiber was studied by using scanning electron microscopy. X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy are used to identify the crystallinity index and chemical groups present in the fiber, respectively. The fiber has an average diameter of 577 µm and density of 1.2576 g/cc. The cellulose, lignin, wax, ash, and moisture contents present in the fiber are 76.13%, 4.29%, 0.32%, 19.69%, and 10.47%, respectively. The crystallinity index was 57%. The Griffith model was used to obtain the average values of diameter and tensile properties of Phoenix sp. fiber. The maximum tensile strength and Young’s modulus were around 348.95 MPa and 7.62 GPa, respectively. The Phoenix sp. fiber properties were compared with the properties of existing natural fibers.