Surface Modified Nanocellulose and Its Reinforcement in Natural Rubber Matrix Nanocomposites: A Review

Abstract

Natural rubber is of significant economic importance owing to its excellent resilience, elasticity, abrasion and impact resistance. Despite that, natural rubber has been identified with some drawbacks such as low modulus and strength and therefore opens up the opportunity for adding a reinforcing agent. Apart from the conventional fillers such as silica, carbon black and lignocellulosic fibers, nanocellulose is also one of the ideal candidates. Nanocellulose is a promising filler with many excellent properties such as renewability, biocompatibility, non-toxicity, reactive surface, low density, high specific surface area, high tensile and elastic modulus. However, it has some limitations in hydrophobicity, solubility and compatibility and therefore it is very difficult to achieve good dispersion and interfacial properties with the natural rubber matrix. Surface modification is often carried out to enhance the interfacial compatibilities between nanocellulose and natural rubber and to alleviate difficulties in dispersing them in polar solvents or polymers. This paper aims to highlight the different surface modification methods employed by several researchers in modifying nanocellulose and its reinforcement effects in the natural rubber matrix. The mechanism of the different surface medication methods has been discussed. The review also lists out the conventional filler that had been used as reinforcing agent for natural rubber. The challenges and future prospective has also been concluded in the last part of this review.

Towards biodegradable barrier packaging: Production of films for single-use primary food liquid packaging

“…Other modifications to increase the hydrophobicity of the films could involve grafting (Lakovaara et al 2021), reaction with silane groups, or surfactants (Abdul Khalil et al 2012;Islam et al 2013). The combination of nanocellulose and thermoplastics is another interesting option (Hakimi et al 2021). However, the studies generally involve thermoplastic as matrix and cellulosic derivatives as reinforcement (Ruz-Cruz et al 2022).…”

Physical Properties of Hydrothermally Treated Rubberwood [Hevea brasiliensis (Willd. ex A. Juss.) Müll. Arg.] in Different Buffered Media

“…were introduced into Peninsular Malaysia more than a hundred years ago. Rubber trees are the main source of natural latex, a distinctive biopolymer of significant economic importance and an important commodity in Southeast Asian countries [1]. The rubber tree is commonly cut down after 30 years when its latex production capability starts to slow down and it stops being economical.…”

Studies on the Thermodynamic Properties of Natural Rubber Composites Filled With Clay and Corn Cob

“…NR has found applications as a material for tyre manufacturing, adhesives, electronic parts, aerospace parts, etc. due to its exceptional properties such as high tensile strength, elasticity, abrasion, and impact resistance [1][2][3].…”

“…However, natural rubber in its pristine form is associated with some shortcomings including low modulus and strength [3]. To improve the mechanical properties and processability of natural rubber, certain substances are added as reinforcing agents during rubber processing.…”

“…[35,36]. The search for greener fillers for natural rubber compounding is an active research field that has been well-reviewed and documented in the literature in recent times [2,3,37,[38][39][40][41].…”