| Summary: | Surface treatments done in banana fibers (BFs) can generate significant superficial structural changes enabling the production of mechanically stronger composites. In this way, the objective of this study was to evaluate the physicochemical and mechanical properties of banana fibers of Prata specie from inner and outer leaf sheaths, when irradiated with UV light (λmax = 400 nm) during 7 (UV7) and 15 (UV15) days. Structural and microstructural characterizations for non- and irradiated fibers were performed by, FT-IR spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), which showed the influence of UV irradiation on BFs surface and chemical structure. The Ea involved in the thermal degradation process of InNatura fiber (188.2 kJ.mol–1) was obtained using Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA/TG). The results obtained from mechanical characterization showed that the UV7 fibers presented significant improvement in tensile strength (89.77 MPa) and elastic modulus (238.94 MPa) as compared to tensile strength (69.99 MPa) and elastic modulus (87.40 MPa) of InNatura fibers. Statistical analysis using two-way ANOVA has showed that there were no differences between mechanical properties of BFs from inner to outer leaf sheaths. UV radiation has proved to be a clean method for BF surface treatment, which can improve the mechanical properties of composites based on these fibers.
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