Novel surface treatment for natural fiber composites

Poly(lactide) (PLA) — flax fibers stereocomplex composites were prepared by casting commercial poly(L-lactide) (PLA) and flax-g-poly(D-lactide) (flax-g-PDLA), where flax-g-PDLA was synthesized via ring-opening polymerization. Successful surface grafting was revealed by Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance ( 1 H NMR) spectroscopy, wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) studies. DSC results showed that stereocomplex crystallites formed between the PLA matrix and flax-g-PDLA, resulting in good fiber/PLA interfacial adhesion.