## 1 Introduction  
The research interest into utilizing natural fibers as reinforcement in polymers has dramatically increased during the last decade. It has been claimed that they can replace their synthetic polymer counterparts. Natural fibers, such as banana, kenaf, sugar palm, pineapple leaf, and empty fruit bunch, are abundantly available in tropical countries, especially in Southeast Asia and Papua New Guinea. Among the natural fiber composites, banana has attracted significant interest since it is biodegradable, not a health hazard, of low abrasivity, cheap, and offers good sound absorption capabilities. It belongs to a subclass of monocotyledonous herbaceous flowering plants in the genus _Musa_. This tropical plant originated from Brazil and was widely consumed after the American Civil War. Roughly, 72.5 million tons of banana fruit are produced yearly throughout the world [1]. The most widely recognized banana that is consumed by humans is a member of the _Musa acuminata_ species. For each ton of banana produced and harvested, around 100 kg of the fruit product is rejected and nearly 4 tons of biomass waste, including leaf, pseudo-stem, rotten fruit, peel, fruit-bunch-stem, and rhizome [2], are produced. In many nations, including Malaysia, the uses of banana fiber have been disregarded, despite research findings over the years [3]. Past studies have proven that the banana pseudo-stem is a promising fiber with a significant tensile strength [4] and stiffness [5]. [PERSON] et al. [6] mentioned that epoxy polymer reinforced by banana improved its mechanical strength by 90% and its impact strength by 40% compared to neat polymer. In addition, the optimal loading percentage of treated banana fiber incorporated into low-density polyethylene (LDPE) at a fiber loading of 20% offered the highest mechanical properties [7]. Further, the highest improvement of 4%, 11%, 14.5%, and 11.1% for [PERSON]'s modulus and tensile, flexural, and impact strengths, respectively, was found for a 25% banana fiber loading that had been treated with alkali compared to values for neat LDPE [8]. In another study, [PERSON] et al. [9] stated that 10% banana fiber loading treated with 5% alkaline suspension achieved the highest mechanical properties for acrylonitrile butadiene styrene. [PERSON] et al. [10] reported that an increase in banana fiber length of up to 15 mm and a 16% weight ratio increases the tensile strength and modulus of a banana/epoxy composite. However, in order to achieve higher mechanical properties, [PERSON] et al. [11] suggested an optimal fiber length and fiber weight ratio of 30 mm and 57%, respectively. However, the optimal findings for fiber treatment and fiber loading are still inconsistent. Higher loading and treatment of the banana fibers have led to poor interfacial adhesion and reduced mechanical properties. A series of studies on the impact properties of a composite structure with banana fiber reinforcement have been conducted [12; 13; 14; 15; 16]. The impact strength of banana pseudo-stem unplastisized polyvinyl chloride composites were conducted by [PERSON] and [PERSON] [12] using the Izod impact test. It was found that fiber loading using banana fiber could possibly enhance the impact strength properties of the composites. [PERSON] et al. [13] conducted the Charpy test in order to evaluate the effect of banana, sisal, and pineapple reinforcement on the fracture of coir/polyester composites and found that the sisal/polyester composites exhibited the highest value. The impact strengths of hybrid sisal, banana, coir, and sisal/banana/coir-fiber-reinforced epoxy were also compared by [PERSON] et al. [14]. Again sisal-fiber-reinforced epoxy offered a higher resistance to impact loading. In addition, [PERSON] et al. [15] examined the effect of fiber loading on a banana fiber/polyester composite following a low-velocity impact. They suggested that a fiber length from 30 to 40 mm and a fiber loading of 40% offered significantly higher impact resistance. [PERSON] et al.