Development and Characterization of Eco-Friendly Sisal Fiber-Natural Rubber Latex Composites

Abstract

The toxic, hazardous and non-biodegradable behavior of synthetic fibers and the rapid depletion of petroleum products from which most synthetic polymers are developed have led the Industries to look for low cost, available and renewable materials like natural fibers for product design and development. The present work aims at the development and Mechanical Properties characterization of an elastomeric composite using natural materials like natural rubber latex and 40% v/v continuous and unidirectional natural sisal leaf fibers, in both longitudinal (0º) and transverse fiber orientations (90º). Tensile and Tear strengths for Longitudinal (0°) fiber orientations are found to increase by 1428.5% and 927.1% respectively over pure latex sample. For the 90º fiber oriented rubber, latex samples also showed improvements in tensile and tear strengths.