Authors : J. Sethubathi

Volume/Issue : Volume 10 - 2025, Issue 8 - August

Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/mrac6v83

Scribd : https://tinyurl.com/mtxxvs8m

DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/25aug819

Note : A published paper may take 4-5 working days from the publication date to appear in PlumX Metrics, Semantic Scholar, and ResearchGate.

Note : Google Scholar may take 30 to 40 days to display the article.

Abstract : The rising interest in eco-friendly materials has sparked extensive work on polymer matrix composites (PMCs) reinforced with plant-derived fibers, which are both renewable and biodegradable substitutes for traditional synthetic inputs. Although these composites present substantial environmental advantages, the inherently low bonding strength between the polymer matrix and the natural fibers restricts their mechanical robustness and durability under service conditions. Chemically modifying the fibers has therefore become the predominant strategy for achieving stronger interface adhesion and, in turn, for raising the composites’ overall performance thresholds. This paper surveys the latest contributions concerning the chemical alteration of vegetable and lignocellulosic fibers, with emphasis on alkali, acid, silane, enzyme, and grafting techniques. For each treatment, the review examines the corresponding gains in mechanical strength, thermal stability, and environmental resistance, supported by experimentally validated trends. It further maps the expanding footprint of these composites within automotive, civil, packaging, and consumer-products supply chains. Finally, the article candidly addresses prevalent barriers—such as variability in raw-material properties and prohibitive treatment costs— while outlining targeted research trajectories, including the synergistic combination of treatment techniques and the design of biodegradable matrices, which could extend performance and market acceptance.

Keywords : Polymer Matrix Composites, Natural Fiber Reinforcement, Chemical Modification, Sustainable Materials, Biocomposites, Green Composites, Mechanical Properties, Interfacial Bonding, Surface Treatment, Fiber-Matrix Interface, Composite Materials, Biodegradable Polymers, Natural Fiber Composites, Hybrid Composites.

References :

1. R. Venkatesh, G. Kaliyaperumal, S. Manivannan, S. Karthikeyan, V. Mohanavel, M. E. M. Soudagar, et al., "Performance Evaluation of Nano Silicon Carbide Configured Aluminium Alloy with Titanium Nanocomposite via Semisolid Stir Cast," SAE Technical Paper 0148-7191, 2024.
2. R. Venkatesh, G. Kaliyaperumal, S. Manivannan, S. Karthikeyan, V. Mohanavel, M. E. M. Soudagar, et al., "Characteristics of Magnesium Composite Reinforced with Silicon Carbide and Boron Nitride via Liquid Stir Processing," SAE Technical Paper 0148-7191, 2024.
3. K. Arunraja, P. Muthugounder, S. Karthikeyan, S. Ganesan, A. Gowrishankar, and B. Muruganandhan, "Influences of jute fiber and alumina nanoparticles on behaviour of polyester composite synthesized via hand layup route," in AIP Conference Proceedings, 2025, p. 020290.
4. S. Ganesan, G. Boopathi, S. Kalaiarasan, B. E. Jebasingh, P. Muruganandhan, and S. Karthikeyan, "Synthesis and characteristics evaluation of epoxy hybrid nanocomposite featured with ramie fiber and SiC," in AIP Conference Proceedings, 2025, p. 020241.
5. G. Kaliyaperumal, N. Karthikeyan, C. Priya, S. Karthikeyan, M. Ammaiappan, and S. Prabagaran, "Hybrid reinforcement’s actions on flexural/tensile/impact strength of polyester composite made via injection molding route," in AIP Conference Proceedings, 2025.
6. R. Janani, S. Bhuvana, V. Geethalakshmi, R. Jeyachitra, K. Sathishkumar, R. Balu, et al., "Micro and nano plastics in food: A review on the strategies for identification, isolation, and mitigation through photocatalysis, and health risk assessment," Environmental Research, vol. 241, p. 117666, 2024.
7. V. Geethalaksmi and C. Theivarasu, "Synthesis and Characterization of Samarium (III (and Gadolinium (III) Complexes Containing2-Methoxy-6-((2-(Piperazin-1yl) Ethylimino) Methyl) Phenol as Ligand," International Journal of ChemTech Research, vol. 9, pp. 941-949, 2016.
8. V. Geethalakshmi, C. Theivarasu, N. Nalini, and V. Gomathi, "Spectroscopic, microbial studies and in-vitro anticancer activity of Pyridine Schiff base ligand and its lanthanum complexes," Bulletin of Materials Science, vol. 46, p. 223, 2023.
9. V. Geethalakshmi, N. Nalini, and C. Theivarasu, "Anticancer activity of morpholine schiff base complexes," in AIP Conference Proceedings, 2020, p. 100016.
10. N. Nalini, K. S. Thangamani, V. Geethalakshmi, and S. Nithyashree, "14 - Innovative nanosensors for detection of dyes," in Nanotechnology-based Sensors for Detection of Environmental Pollution, F. M. Policarpo Tonelli, A. Roy, M. Ozturk, and H. C. A. Murthy, Eds., ed: Elsevier, 2024, pp. 265-275.
11. K. Krishnasamy, J. Palanisamy, and M. Bhuvaneshwarana, "A review on natural fiber reinforced biocomposites properties and its applications," in AIP Conference Proceedings, 2024, p. 020015.
12. J. Venkatesh, M. Bhuvaneshwaran, and P. Jagadeesh, "Experimental Analysis on Mechanical Properties of Hemp/Rice Cereal Fibre Reinforced Hybrid Composites for Light Weight Applications," in International Symposium on Lightweight and Sustainable Polymeric Materials, 2023, pp. 377-385.
13. J. Palanisamy, K. Karthik, G. Subbiah, and K. K. Priya, "Advanced Characterization of Alangium Salviifolium Bark Fibre: Thermal, Structural, and Chemical Properties for High-Performance Polymer Composite Reinforcement," Results in Engineering, p. 105296, 2025.
14. G. Kaliyaperumal, C. Devanathan, S. Prabagaran, P. Prakash, Arivazhagan, and L. Suriyaprakash, "Featuring with sodium hydroxide processed bast fiber made polypropylene composite: Behaviour investigation," in AIP Conference Proceedings, 2025, p. 020099.
15. J. G. Murali, S. Marimuthu, P. Vignesh, P. Prakash, G. V. Kaliyannan, and S. Karthikeyan, "Influences of silicon carbide particles on tensile performance and hardness behavior of polyethylene composites made via injection mold," in AIP Conference Proceedings, 2025, p. 020292.
16. D. Gunaseelan, M. N. Kumar, and P. Prakash, "Wind and Solar Mobile Charging Station with IoT," in 2024 International Conference on Innovative Computing, Intelligent Communication and Smart Electrical Systems (ICSES), 2024, pp. 1-6.
17. S. Sundaram and M. Kumarasamy, "Joint characteristics and process parameters optimization on friction stir welding of AA 2024-T6 and AA 5083-H111 aluminium alloys," Journal of the Serbian Chemical Society, vol. 89, pp. 1387-1399, 2024.
18. E. M. Sundaram, V. Santhosh, M. Sundaresan, and S. Sakthivel, "Machine Learning Model for Predicting Tensile Strength of Aluminium Alloy 5083," in 2025 International Conference on Advanced Computing Technologies (ICoACT), 2025, pp. 1-6.
19. A. Venkataramanan, M. Dhanenthiran, K. Balasubramanian, K. Mallieswaran, and M. Vinosh, "Predict the fatigue life of solution treated and aged TIG welded AA6061 aluminum alloy joints," in AIP Conference Proceedings, 2022, p. 020020.
20. A. Venkataramanan, J. J. Praveen, B. A. Kumar, R. Vinothkumar, and M. Vinosh, "Fatigue life assessment on artificially aged TIG welded AA6061 aluminum alloy joints," in AIP Conference Proceedings, 2022, p. 020013.
21. A. Venkataramanan, M. Subramaniyan, S. L. Kumar, R. R. Jawahar, and L. Prabhu, "Application of CCD in RSM to obtain optimize treatment of tribological characteristics of WC-10Co-4Cr nanoceramic thermal spray coating," Materials Today: Proceedings, vol. 45, pp. 6160-6170, 2021.
22. T. Raja, M. Vinayagam, A. Venkataramanan, A. Mohankumar, A. Chinnathambi, S. A. Alharbi, et al., "Effect of nano alumina particles on Boehmeria nivea fiber-reinforced polyester green composite: biological, elemental and mechanical analysis," Optical and Quantum Electronics, vol. 56, p. 538, 2024.
23. E. Natarajan, A. Venkataramanan, R. Sasikumar, S. Parasuraman, and G. Kosalishkwaran, "Dynamic Analysis of Compliant LEG of a Stewart-Gough Type Parallel Mechanism," in 2019 IEEE Student Conference on Research and Development (SCOReD), 2019, pp. 123-128.
24. S. Karthikeyan, S. Ganesan, A. Suresh, P. Muruganandhan, B. E. Jebasingh, and K. Manogar, "Impact of E glass fiber on functional properties of low density polyethyle composite made via compression mold," in AIP Conference Proceedings, 2025, p. 020243.
25. S. Karthikeyan, A. Jagadheeswari, J. G. Murali, G. Kaliannan, S. Marimuthu, and S. Kalaiarasan, "Hot compression actions on functional behavior of polyester composite configured with basalt fiber," in AIP Conference Proceedings, 2025, p. 020294.
26. S. Karthikeyan, M. Karthick, M. Munipalli, N. Sankar, L. Suriyaprakash, and P. Muthugounder, "Effect of roselle fiber on physical and thermal behaviour of polypropylene nanocomposite developed by conventional route," in AIP Conference Proceedings, 2025, p. 020223.
27. S. Karthikeyan, A. Karthikeyan, B. K. Jose, S. Marimuthu, T. Sathish, and J. G. Murali, "Influences of titanium carbide on behaviour of jute fiber made epoxy composite for automotive usage," in AIP Conference Proceedings, 2025, p. 020296.
28. S. Karthikeyan, S. Manivannan, R. Venkatesh, S. Karthikeyan, R. Anand, and S. Sasikaran, "Optimization and Characteristics of Multimodal Binder on Polymer Nanocomposite for Lightweight Applications," Journal of Environmental Nanotechnology, vol. 13, pp. 207-216, 2024.
29. S. Karthikeyan, S. Manivannan, R. Venkatesh, S. Karthikeyan, A. Kuila, and S. Lakshmanan, "Impact of Binder Selection on Functional Properties of Polymer Nanocomposite Featured with Metal Oxide Nanoparticle," Journal of Environmental Nanotechnology, vol. 13, pp. 262-270, 2024.
30. S. Manivannan, R. Venkatesh, G. Kaliyaperumal, S. Karthikeyan, V. Mohanavel, M. E. M. Soudagar, et al., "Magnesium Alloy Hybrid Composite Properties are Featured with Boron Carbide Particle for Automotive Seat Frame Usage," SAE Technical Paper 0148-7191, 2024.
31. S. Marimuthu, R. Ashokkumar, S. Karthick, A. Karthikeyan, S. Karthikeyan, and R. Gunasekaran, "Synthetic fiber featured epoxy composite for light weight application: Performance measures," in AIP Conference Proceedings, 2025, p. 020293.
32. P. Muthugounder, R. D. Kumar, S. Ganesan, A. Gowrishankar, S. Karthikeyan, and B. E. Jebasingh, "Featuring of boron nitride on high density polyethylene/sisal fiber composite: Characteristics evaluation," in AIP Conference Proceedings, 2025, p. 020246.
33. S. Raja, R. Ali, S. Karthikeyan, R. Surakasi, R. Anand, N. Devarasu, et al., "Energy-Efficient FDM Printing of Sustainable Polymers: Optimization Strategies for Material and Process Performance," Applied Chemical Engineering, vol. 7, p. 10.59429, 2024.
34. S. Raja, R. M. Ali, Y. V. Babar, R. Surakasi, S. Karthikeyan, B. Panneerselvam, et al., "Integration of nanomaterials in FDM for enhanced surface properties: Optimized manufacturing approaches," Applied Chemical Engineering, vol. 7, 2024.
35. S. Raja, M. A. Rusho, K. C. Sekhar, K. S. Kumar, K. Alagarraja, A. P. Kumar, et al., "Innovative surface engineering of sustainable polymers: Toward green and high-performance materials," Applied Chemical Engineering, vol. 7, 2024.
36. A. Saravanakumar, J. G. Murali, A. Kuila, S. Karthikeyan, S. Ganesan, and A. Gowrishankar, "Biodegradable bast fiber made polypropylene composite via hot compression: Characteristics study," in AIP Conference Proceedings, 2025, p. 020291.
37. N. Saravanan, S. Karthikeyan, S. Marimuthu, J. G. Murali, M. Prasath, and A. Gowrishankar, "Effect of surface treatment on characteristics of bast fiber incorporated polyethylene composite: Behavior study," in AIP Conference Proceedings, 2025, p. 020295.
38. R. Subramani, R. M. Ali, R. Surakasi, D. R. Sudha, S. Karthick, S. Karthikeyan, et al., "Surface metamorphosis techniques for sustainable polymers: Optimizing material performance and environmental impact," Applied Chemical Engineering, vol. 7, pp. 11-11, 2024.
39. R. Venkatesh, N. Aravindan, S. Manivannan, S. Karthikeyan, V. Mohanavel, M. E. M. Soudagar, et al., "Study of Natural Fiber Incorporated Polypropylene Composite Laminate for Lightweight Applications," SAE Technical Paper 0148-7191, 2024.
40. R. Venkatesh, G. Kaliyaperumal, S. Manivannan, S. Karthikeyan, N. Aravindan, V. Mohanavel, et al., "Effect of Silicon Carbide Addition and Jute Fiber Surface Treatment on Functional Qualities of Low-Density Polyethylene Composites," SAE Technical Papers, 2024.