Cellulose Nanofibers Isolated from the Cuscuta Reflexa Plant as a Green Reinforcement of Natural Rubber.

Midhun Dominic C.D,Krzysztof Formela,Meera Joseph,Dileep Padmanabhan,Rani Joseph,Leonna Angela Morris,P.M Sabura Begum,Athira S Kumar

doi:10.3390/polym12040814

Abstract

In the present work, we used the steam explosion method for the isolation of cellulose nanofiber (CNF) from Cuscuta reflexa, a parasitic plant commonly seen in Kerala and we evaluated its reinforcing efficiency in natural rubber (NR). Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) techniques indicated that type I cellulose nanofibers, with diameter: 10–30 nm and a 67% crystallinity index were obtained by the proposed method. The results showed that application of CNF in NR based nanocomposites resulted in significant improvement of their processing and performance properties. It was observed that the tensile strength and tear strength of NR/CNF nanocomposites are found to be a maximum at 2 phr CNF loading, which corresponds with the studies of equilibrium swelling behavior. Dynamic mechanical analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, and morphological studies of tensile fractured samples also confirm that CNF isolated from Cuscuta reflexa plant can be considered as a promising green reinforcement for rubbers.

Highlights

Carbon black, precipitated silica, clay, and calcium carbonate are generally used as fillers in the rubber industry
natural rubber (NR) latex concentrate with a minimum 60% dry rubber content (DRC), preserved with high ammonia (HA) preservative system and conforming to the BIS 5430-1981 specifications was used in the study
Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images underline the fibrous morphology of cellulose nanofiber (CNF)

Summary

Introduction

Carbon black, precipitated silica, clay, and calcium carbonate are generally used as fillers in the rubber industry. Several works were reported in the literature for preparing eco-friendly composites by using green-fillers like rice husk ash [1], marble sludge [2], natural fiber [3], bagasse ash [4], chitin [5], eggshell powder [6], etc. Among these green-fillers, utilization of natural fibers as reinforcing filler in rubber is a very active area because of their unique properties like biodegradability, recyclability, high aspect ratio, less toxicity, high modulus, low cost, etc. Natural-fiber reinforced composites have already made a significant presence in various sectors such as automotive, electrical and electronics, sports goods, building/construction, packaging, adhesives, etc.

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Conclusion