Dynamic mechanical behaviour of kenaf cellulosic fibre biocomposites: a comprehensive review on chemical treatments

Natural cellulosic fibres, such as kenaf, have potential for use as replacement of man-made fibres in polymeric composites. The rapid depletion of synthetic resources, such as petroleum, and the growing consciousness of global environmental problems related to synthetic products push toward the acceptance of natural fibres as biocomposite components. Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) is a multipurpose hibiscus species used to make engineered wood, clothing, packing material, rope and twine. Kenaf is essentially made up of cellulose (about 70%), predicting its excellent mechanical performance. Kenaf fibres are chemically treated before mixing with other polymer resins to enhance their fibre properties. Based on the previous literature, the effect of chemical treatment on the dynamic mechanical performance of kenaf cellulosic biocomposites remains unexplored. The present review focuses on the recent works on the influence of major chemical treatments used on kenaf fibre, such as alkaline, silane and acetylation on fabricated biocomposites. The present review also unveils other chemical treatments (e.g. zein and amino acid) and combined treatments on the fibre to improve the biocomposites’ dynamic mechanical behaviour.