Research on Natural Fiber Polymer Composites: The WayForward

Natural fibre reinforced polymer composites are emerging materials that are used as materials for various applications ranging from furniture, building and construction, automotive and marine industries. Kenaf, jute, sisal, hemp, oil palm, sugar palm, pineapple leaf, and roselle stem, are among natural fibres reported to be used as reinforcements and fillers in polymer composites. Natural fibre reinforced polymer composites demonstrated excellence performances and positive attributes such as low cost, renewable, environmentally friendly, abundantly available, light weight and good specific strength and stiffness properties. However, there are some fundamental issues that have to be resolved before these materials can replace conventional materials like glass fibre reinforced polymer composites in greater scales such as poor adhesion between fibres and matrices due to hydrophobic nature of matrices and hydrophilic nature of fibres.