Morphology, Structure, and Mechanical Properties of Natural Cellulose Fiber from Mendong Grass (<i>Fimbristylis globulosa</i>)

This study was to investigate the morphology, structure, and chemical properties of the Mendong fibers extracted from Mendong grass (Fimbristylis globulosa) in the form of raw and treated fiber by alkali-included chemical content and functional group and to evaluate the strength and properties of Mendong fibers compared with other natural fibers. These studies explore the chemical properties of the fiber including fiber composition and functional group by FTIR, mechanical properties of fiber, and the structural and morphological analysis of the fiber using SEM and XRD. The results showed that the chemical contents of Mendong fibers were 72.14% cellulose, 20.2% hemicellulose, 3.44% lignin, 4.2% extractive, and moisture of 4.2%–5.2%. Mechanical properties of the fiber were a strong character with tensile strength of 452 MPa, and modulus of 17 GPa. The structural properties of Mendong fiber such as crystallinity, crystalline index, microfibril angle, and crystalline size were 70.17% and 58.6%, 22.9°, and 14.3 nm, respectively. This fiber has competitive advantages compared with other natural fibers and can be developed further as a potential reinforcement of polymer matrix composites.