Pineapple leaf fibers coated with polyacrylamide hydrogel

Abstract

Pineapple leaf fibers (PALF) have several advantages such as low cost, eco-friendly, and high specific strength. However, the brittleness of PALF limits its application. To overcome this limitation of PALF, it is essential to synergize the advantages of PALF with elastic properties of hydrogel. In this study, PALF was coated with polyacrylamide (PAAm) hydrogel under direct UV light exposure (UVA>300nm). Prior to this coating, PALF was alkali treated to introduce more OH group on PALF fiber. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of untreated/treated PALF coated PAAm hydrogel on the flexibility of the fiber using tensile measurements. From the results, treated PALF coated PAAm hydrogel showed better results in tensile properties compared to untreated PALF due to the alkali treatment which improved the interfacial adhesion between PAAm hydrogel and fiber surface. In general, this study is precursor for further development in natural fiber coating technology.