Natural fibers have demonstrated exceptional properties that can be utilized as a viable and environmentally reliable material for reinforcement in polymer composites replacing their synthetic counterparts creating numerous environmental problems. Jute fiber is a prominent natural fiber that has been successfully applied for manufacturing noble natural fiber-based composites. This article describes the advantages and comparison between two surface treatment techniques that is alkali treatment and nano-clay treatment of jute fiber to enhance the properties for producing improved composite material. FTIR, SEM, AFM, and TGA have been utilized to compare and study how different surface treatment methods affect jute fiber. Isoconversional methods FWO and KAS are applied for the thermos-kinetic analysis and evaluation of activation energy of thermal decomposition. More than 30% increase in peak activation energy has been observed (120 KJ/mole to 160 KJ/mol). Alkali–nano-clay treated jute fiber exhibits nearly 32% improvement (405 MPa to 535 MPa) in tensile strength, 24% increment (11.85 GPa to 14.69 GPa) in tensile modulus, and 15% improvement (1.4 gm/cm3 to 1.61 gm/cm3) in fiber density as compared to that of untreated jute fiber. This study validates that nano-clay treatment has shown promising results and can improve the overall properties of natural fibers significantly.

中文翻译：

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用于增强聚合物复合材料的黄麻纤维的纳米粘土处理：机械、形态和热动力学分析

天然纤维已表现出卓越的性能，可用作可行且环境可靠的材料，用于增强聚合物复合材料，取代造成许多环境问题的合成纤维。黄麻纤维是一种著名的天然纤维，已成功应用于制造高贵的天然纤维基复合材料。本文介绍了黄麻纤维的碱处理和纳米粘土处理两种表面处理技术的优点和比较，以提高生产改进复合材料的性能。FTIR、SEM、AFM 和 TGA 用于比较和研究不同表面处理方法对黄麻纤维的影响。等转换方法 FWO 和 KAS 用于热动力学分析和热分解活化能评估。观察到峰值活化能增加了 30% 以上（120 KJ/mol 至 160 KJ/mol）。经过碱纳米粘土处理的黄麻纤维的拉伸强度提高了近 32%（405 MPa 至 535 MPa），拉伸模量提高了 24%（11.85 GPa 至 14.69 GPa），拉伸模量提高了 15%（1.4 gm/cm）3至 1.61 克/厘米3）与未经处理的黄麻纤维的纤维密度相比。这项研究验证了纳米粘土处理已显示出有希望的结果，并且可以显着改善天然纤维的整体性能。