Preparation and Characterisation of Electrospun Composite Nanofibre Polyvinyl Alcohol/Nanofibrillated Cellulose Isolated from Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunches

Composite nanofibre polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) was prepared in this work reinforced with nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) using an electrospinning technique. NFC was isolated from oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFB) by steam explosion method followed by acid hydrolysis. A 12 wt% PVOH solution in distilled water was prepared under constant reflux at 80 degrees C for 5 h. Several concentrations of NFC were added to the polymer solution of 2.5, 5.0, and 7.5 wt%. The nano-dimension of NFC was analysed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The morphology of electrospun nanofibre was characterised using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The morphology of PVOH nanofibre was smooth and uniform without beads. The presence of NFC in the PVOH nanofibre decreased the diameter. The morphology of PVOH/NFC nanofibre at a concentration of NFC 2.5% was fairly uniform with good quality. However, the preparation of PVOH/NFC nanofibre at concentrations of NFC 5.0% and 7.5% resulted in elliptical beads. The crystallinity of NFC and electrospinning nanofibre was investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD). In addition, the thermal properties of the samples were analysed using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results showed that NFC improved the thermal stability of electrospun PVOH nanofibre.