Thermo‐mechanical performance of oil palm/bamboo fiber reinforced bio epoxy hybrid composites

Abstract The aim of this work to fabricate bamboo (B)/oil palm (O) fibers based biocomposites to assess mechanical, thermal and morphological properties. Flexural strength and modulus of hybrid biocomposite (7B:3O) exhibited a higher value (71.18 MPa and 5.24GPa) respectively among all biocomposite samples. On the other hand, pure biocomposite (B) showed a higher impact strength value (6977.8 J/m 2 ) compared to other biocomposites. The results of TGA showed that thermal stability was observed significantly for hybrid biocomposites compared to other samples. In addition, the maximum decomposition temperature values were displayed in the hybrid biocomposite (5B5O), which was 377.82°C. Through DMA, it was likely to find the storage modulus curves (E′), loss modulus (E″) and damping factor (tan δ) for the biocomposites. The E′ showed an increase in the (3736.84 MPa) contrasted to other corresponding samples which were 3121.81 MPa, and 3209.67 MPa for 3B7O MPa and 5B5O samples, respectively. Overall, the results of DMA displayed an enhancement in the storage modulus (E′) in terms of the hybrid biocomposites representing greater stiffness and lower damping factor. SEM micrographs were utilized to understand the fiber bonding and fiber adhesion with the epoxy matrix. Furthermore, it confirmed SEM results that hybrid natural fibers enhance the complete characterisations of bio‐epoxy materials. Additionally, SEM images of the tensile fracture surfaces discovered voids and cracks. Finally, it can be concluded that the selection for the developed hybrid biocomposites provides excellent and economical lightweight biomaterials for automotive, aerospace, contractions and building components. Highlights Green hybrid biocomposites by oil palm/bamboo fiber/bioepoxy resin. Mechanical, thermal, DMA of hybrid composites carried out. Hybrid biocomposite(7B:3O) exhibited higher flexural strength value (71.18 MPa). TGA showed that the biocomposites are thermally further stable. DMA displayed an enhancement in the storage modulus (E′).