Morphology and properties of sugarcane bagasse cellulose- natural rubber composites
This study investigated the mechanically treated sugarcane bagasse cellulose / natural rubber composites. The novelty of this work is based on sugarcane bagasse treated by supermass colloider and an acidification. Properties such as morphology, solvent uptake, diffusion coefficient, transport mechanism, and thermal stability of vulcanised natural rubber (RB) and its composites were investigated. The acid and mechanical treatment showed less aggregates in the composites than bagasse cellulose composite. The transportation mechanism of solvent diffusion suggested that irregular particles are responsible for solvent absorptions. The composites generally showed reduction in swelling rate which was attributed to tortuosity of the path and reduced transport area in the composites compared to neat natural rubber. There was a decrease in the thermal properties of natural rubber with the addition of the reinforcing fillers.