Chitin nanowhiskers from shrimp shell waste as green filler in acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber: Processing and performance properties.

In this work, chitin nanowhiskers with high crystallinity index were obtained from shrimp shells waste using acid hydrolysis method and then comprehensively characterized. Subsequently, the impact of chitin nanowhisker content on processing and performance of acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber based nanocomposites was evaluated. The results showed that the addition of chitin nanowhiskers increased tensile strength and tear strength of nanocomposites by 116 % and 54 %, which was related to suitable dispersion of chitin nanowhiskers in matrix.

Cellulose Nanofibers Isolated from the Plant as a Green Reinforcement of Natural Rubber.

In the present work, we used the steam explosion method for the isolation of cellulose nanofiber (CNF) from , a parasitic plant commonly seen in Kerala and we evaluated its reinforcing efficiency in natural rubber (NR). Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) techniques indicated that type I cellulose nanofibers, with diameter: 10-30 nm and a 67% crystallinity index were obtained by the proposed method. The results showed that application of CNF in NR based nanocomposites resulted in significant improvement of their processing and performance properties.