Investigating the acoustic and morphological performance of Arundo donax reed particles treated by using sodium hydroxide (NaOH).

The present investigation aims to explore the potential of chemical treatment to improve the acoustic and morphological performance of Arundo donax reed particles. To this end, both treated and untreated particles were fabricated into samples with varying diameters and subjected to sound absorption testing via a two-channel impedance tube. The findings revealed that the immersion of particles in a 5% sodium hydroxide solution resulted in a reduction in particle diameter by 19.2%, as well as an increase in inner surface porosity by 4.9%. Consequently, the sound absorption performance of treated particles improved by an average of 42.6% when compared to untreated particles. Notably, the impedance spectroscopy results indicated that the differences in the real and imaginary parts of the impedance can be attributed to a reduction in particle thickness and roughness of surface morphology after treatment with NaOH. Overall, these observations offer compelling evidence that chemical modification of natural fibers can lead to the development of more efficient and effective porous sound absorbers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]