Morphological, thermal, and mechanical properties of natural rubber reinforced with cellulose nanofibers from oil palm empty fruit bunch

Oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFB) are abundant lignocellulosic waste materials from palm oil mills in Malaysia. In this study, we aimed to fabricate natural rubber/cellulose nanofiber (NR/CNF) nanocomposite films from OPEFB and to examine their morphological, thermal, and mechanical properties. Formation of NR/CNF composite was confirmed by the presence of functional groups obtained from the FTIR spectrum. The NR formulations were modified with 0.01, 0.10, 0.50, 1.00 phr of CNFs. Our results showed that the specimen with 0.50 phr of CNFs exhibited significant rise ~ 44% in tensile strength whereas further addition with 1.00 phr resulted in more brittle behavior. Incorporation of CNF had negligible effects on the thermal stability of the NR/CNF nanocomposites. The CNF-filled rubber composites showed a rough surface morphology under observation by SEM. We believe that this work will provide a new idea to produce high-performance rubber composite films for glove manufacturing applications.