D. Balaji, B. Arulmurugan, Amuthakkannan Rajakannu, L. Rajeshkumar
Bio-composite gaining the identity because of its eco-friendly nature. To improve the strength many pretreatments is carried out. In this work, novel natural binder coating over the hemp fiber was carried out and converted it into a particulate to mix with the polylactic acid (PLA). Mechanical, thermal, with tribological characteristics of a bio-composite material surface-capped with mesquite tree resin comprising 92.5 % PLA with 7.5% coated hemp fiber were examined in this study. With a tensile strength of 17.56 MPa and a mean compressive strength of 176.69 MPa, the composite proved to be capable of bearing enough load for moderate structural uses. But the average impact strength was as low as 3.43 J/cm 2 , which portrays the ineffective energy absorption of the composites. The shear strength varied widely, with an average of 50 MPa while the Shore D hardness values averaged 73.87. The tribological behaviour showed a height loss varying from 59 to 252 μm while frictional forces varied in between 2.1 and 14.5 N. The thermal stability evaluated by TGA/DSC analysis where the degradation temperature was 360 °C. Despite relatively good fiber-matrix adhesion, scanning electron microscopy confirmed the existence of localized micro-defects. Despite the composite's potential in eco-friendly applications that call for moderate strength along with thermal stability, the findings show that it might not serve for structurally demanding or high-impact applications without additional processing or material improvements. These biocomposites find their applications in under-hood covers in automobiles, sliders, reusable packaging containers, and support structures in construction.