Wetting behavior of soy-based resin and unsaturated polyester on surface-modified sisal fiber mat

This paper presents the complex phenomena occurring during the wetting of natural fibers with epoxidized soybean oil/polyester in terms of contact angle and surface energy. The fibers are treated with various reagents to improve the wetting behavior. The observations demonstrate that NaOH treatment removes hemicelluloses and other impurities to a greater extent as observed through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron …