Preparation of polyvinyl alcohol/cellulose nano fiber nanocomposite isolated from empty oil palm fruit bunches

Abstract

This research was aimed to manufacture polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/cellulose nanofiber (CNF) nanocomposite which was isolated from oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFB) through steam explosion method combined with a hydrolysis process involving HCl 10%. The isolation process was performed in 2 steps; -cellulose isolation from empty fruit bunches fibers and then cellulose nanofiber isolation from -cellulose which was hydrolyzed with acid using ultrasonicator and homogenized in rotational speed of 8000 rpm. The functional group and morphology of nanofibres cellulose were characterized. FT-IR spectrum resulted an absorptions for C-O-C group at wavelength of 1059.99 cm-1 which indicated a glycoside bond. Then, C-H group at 2900.94 cm-1 and O-H group at 3348.62 cm-1 were revealed to indicate the cellulose nanofiber. Moreover, TEM was used for morphological analysis and showing a decrease in fibres diameters after experiencing a chemical-mechanical treatment which lead to nanofibres with final diameter size of 20-30 nm. PVA/CNF nanocomposite with the percentage ratio of 80:20 gave a tensile strength of 17.41 Mpa and Modulus Young of 0.9 Gpa. Finally, the product was also morphologically analyzed with SEM and indicating an even distribution on the PVA surface.