Development of any new material requires its complete characterization to find potential applications.
In that direction, preparation of bio-composites of cassava starch containing up to 30 wt.% green coconut
fibers from Brazil by thermal molding process was reported earlier. Their characterization regarding
physical and tensile properties of both untreated and treated matrices and their composites were also
reported. Structural studies through FTIR and XRD and thermal stability of the above mentioned composites are presented in this paper. FT-IR studies revealed decomposition of components in the matrix;
the starch was neither chemically affected nor modified by either glycerol or the amount of fiber. XRD
studies indicated increasing crystallinity ofthe composites with increasing amount offiber content. Thermal studies through TGA/DTA showed improvement of thermal stability with increasing amount of fiber
incorporation, while DMTA showed increasing storage modulus, higher glass transition temperature and
lower damping with increasing fiber content. Improved interfacial bonding between the matrix and fibers
could be the cause for the above results