Mechanical properties of chemically treated woven banana/polyvinyl alcohol composites

The present work investigated the effect of chemical treatment on the mechanical properties of plain-woven banana fabrics reinforced with a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) biodegradable matrix. Woven banana fabrics were chemically treated with different concentrations (0·5, 1·0, 2·0, 3·0 and 4·0%) for 4 h at room temperature. The banana fabrics and PVA were used in ratios of 55 and 45% weight fractions, respectively. Composites were prepared using the hand-layup method. The samples were tested according to different ASTM standards for tensile, flexural and impact strength. The results showed that tensile, flexural and impact properties improved with potassium permanganate (KMnO₄) treatment. The fabrics treated with 1·0% potassium permanganate showed very good mechanical properties compared with the untreated fabrics and the 0·5, 2·0, 3·0 and 4·0% treated fabrics. The 1% treated fabric composite showed a 68·07% increase in tensile strength compared with the untreated fabric composite. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the 1% treated fabric had better interfacial bonding between the fabric and matrix. This contributes to improvement in the mechanical properties of the composite.