{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T07:06:25Z","timestamp":1789542385698,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,10]],"date-time":"2021-03-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1615334400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100010665","name":"H2020 Marie Sk\u0142odowska-Curie Actions","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["898179"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["898179"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100010665","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100008530","name":"European Regional Development Fund","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["NA"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NA"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100008530","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100010661","name":"Horizon 2020 Framework Programme","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["739574"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["739574"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100010661","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"ARRS (Slovenian Research Agency) Bilateral Project Slovenia - Estonia","award":["BI-EE\/20-22-007"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["BI-EE\/20-22-007"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.mdpi.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Polymers"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study investigated the effect of hemp fiber pretreatments (water and sodium hydroxide) combined with silane treatment, first on the fiber properties (microscale) and then on polylactide (PLA) composite properties (macroscale). At the microscale, Fourier transform infrared, thermogravimetric analysis, and scanning electron microscopy investigations highlighted structural alterations in the fibers, with the removal of targeted components and rearrangement in the cell wall. These structural changes influenced unitary fiber properties. At the macroscale, both pretreatments increased the composites\u2019 tensile properties, despite their negative impact on fiber performance. Additionally, silane treatment improved composite performance thanks to higher performance of the fibers themselves and improved fiber compatibility with the PLA matrix brought on by the silane couplings. PLA composites reinforced by 30 wt.% alkali and silane treated hemp fibers exhibited the highest tensile strength (62 MPa), flexural strength (113 MPa), and Young\u2019s modulus (7.6 GPa). Overall, the paper demonstrates the applicability of locally grown, frost-retted hemp fibers for the development of bio-based composites with low density (1.13 to 1.23 g cm\u22123).<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/polym13060851","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,10]],"date-time":"2021-03-10T20:51:42Z","timestamp":1615409502000},"page":"851","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":52,"title":["Impact of Alkali and Silane Treatment on Hemp\/PLA Composites\u2019 Performance: From Micro to Macro Scale"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9720-7037","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Percy Festus","family":"Alao","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Material and Environmental Technology, Tallinn University of Technology, Ehitajate tee 5, 19086 Tallinn, Estonia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4244-2726","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Laetitia","family":"Marrot","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"InnoRenew CoE, Livade 6, 6310 Izola, Slovenia"},{"name":"Andrej Maru\u0161i\u010d Institute, University of Primorska, Muzejski trg 2, 6000 Koper, Slovenia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michael David","family":"Burnard","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"InnoRenew CoE, Livade 6, 6310 Izola, Slovenia"},{"name":"Andrej Maru\u0161i\u010d Institute, University of Primorska, Muzejski trg 2, 6000 Koper, Slovenia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8094-9395","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gregor","family":"Lavri\u010d","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pulp and Paper Institute, Bogi\u0161i\u0107eva 8, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8477-9784","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mart","family":"Saarna","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Tallinn University of Technology, Ehitajate tee 5, 19086 Tallinn, Estonia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jaan","family":"Kers","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Material and Environmental Technology, Tallinn University of Technology, Ehitajate tee 5, 19086 Tallinn, Estonia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"106333","DOI":"10.1016\/j.compositesa.2021.106333","article-title":"Eighty years of composites reinforced by flax fibers: A historical review","volume":"144","author":"Baley","year":"2021","journal-title":"Compos. 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