Morphology and Physico-Mechanical Threshold of α-Cellulose as Filler in an E-SBR Composite

In the current context of green mobility and sustainability, the use of new generation natural fillers, namely, alpha-cellulose, has gained significant recognition. The presence of hydroxyl groups on alpha-cellulose has generated immense eagerness to map its potency as filler in an elastomeric composite. In the present work, alpha-cellulose-emulsion-grade styrene butadiene rubber (E-SBR) composite is prepared by conventional rubber processing method by using variable proportions of alpha-cellulose (1 to 40 phr) to assess its reinforce ability. Rheological, physical, visco-elastic and dynamic-mechanical behavior have clearly established that 10 phr loading of alpha-cellulose can be considered as an optimized dosage in terms of performance parameters. Morphological characterization with the aid of scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) also substantiated that composite with 10 phr loading of alpha-cellulose has achieved the morphological threshold. With this background, synthetic filler (silica) is substituted by green filler (alpha-cellulose) in an E-SBR-based composite. Characterization of the compound has clearly established the reinforcement ability of alpha-cellulose.

Automated summary

The study demonstrates that replacing synthetic filler (silica) with alpha-cellulose as filler in E-SBR composite can effectively enhance the reinforcement ability of the composite material. Regarding performance parameters, a loading of 10 phr alpha-cellulose is considered as the optimal dosage.