Sbiai, Adil, Kaddami, Hamid, Fleury, Etienne, Maazouz, Abderrahim, Erchiqui, Fouad, Koubaa, Ahmed, Soucy, Joel, and Dufresne, Alain
Lignocellulosic fibers from date palm trees were employed to reinforce an epoxy matrix. Two fiber sizes were used, with the length and diameter in the range of 20–30 and 1.5–3 mm, respectively, for the socalled long fibers, and in the range of 5–15 and 0.25–0.75 mm, respectively, for the socalled short fibers. The morphologies of the resulting composites, as well as their thermal, mechanical, and water sorption properties were evaluated. Strong interactions between both components and etherification reactions may occur between the hydroxyl groups of the fibers and the epoxy groups of the epoxyamine reactive mixture. These effects are emphasized when decreasing the size of the fibers.