Effect of alkali-treated Moringa oleifera fruit husk fibre/SiC nanoparticle reinforced polymer composites

Composite industries use natural fibre as a sustainable resource to improve the sustainability and eco-friendliness of polymer composites. The characterization of alkali-treated Moringa oleifera fruit husk fibres (AMOFHFs) reinforced in unsaturated polyester resin matrix with varying weight percent of nano-sized silicon carbide (SiC) particles as filler material is presented in this paper. The AMOFHFs reinforced composite (AMOFHFC) specimens contain 20 wt.% AMOFHFs and nano-sized SiC particles ranging from 1 to 5 wt.% in 1 wt.% steps. The effect of wt.% variation in nano-sized SiC particles on the mechanical, morphological, tribological and water absorption behaviour of AMOFHFC specimens was thoroughly investigated. According to the findings, the AMOFHFC specimen with 4 wt.% nano-sized SiC particles as filler material has the best mechanical, tribological and water absorption properties. The hardness, tensile, flexural and impact strength of the AMOFHFC specimen with 4 wt.% nano-sized SiC particles improved by 14.86%, 23.11%, 9.6% and 23.22% respectively compared to the composite specimen without SiC nanoparticles as filler material. Similarly, the AMOFHFC specimen with 4 wt.% nano-sized SiC particles exhibited a lesser weight loss of 96.7% compared to the composite specimen without SiC nanoparticles as filler material during the Pin-on-disk experimentation which showcases its superior tribological characteristics. Furthermore, SEM images of fractured tensile AMOFHFC specimens aided in understanding the bonding nature of the AMOFHFs, SiC nanoparticles and unsaturated polyester resin matrix in the composite specimens. The findings above led us to the conclusion that AMOFHFCs with acceptable hydrophobic nature are best suited for light weight automotive and structural applications.