Modification on Nanocellulose Extracted from Kenaf (hibiscus Cannabinus) with 3-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane for Thermal Stability in Poly (vinyl Alcohol) Thin Film Composites

Abstract Improvement in thermal stability of nanocellulose was done with silanization treatment, which started with the treatment of silylated kenaf nanocellulose (SKNC) using 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) in alcohol solution at 25°C with pH 4 within 4 hours. Then, SKNC with varied content from 0.5 to 2% (w/w) was reinforced in poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA). The SKNC was characterized by FT-IR, XRD, TEM, and TGA. The peak at 1571 cm− 1 corresponding to N-H bending vibration was observed on SKNC spectra indicating a successful silane treatment follow-up by a reduction of peak 1642 and 1425 cm− 1, respectively. The crystallinity index for SKNC was increased to 70.34% as compared with KNC (61.73%). TEM showed a needle-like structure for both SKNC and KNC. The interaction between SKNC and PVA was characterized by FT-IR with an increment of peak 1089 and 1028 cm− 1, which shows the physical interaction that occurred between PVA and SKNC. The dispersion of SKNC was well homogenous as observed in FESEM. SKNC exhibited good thermal stability and a less amount of char was formed at 700°C compared to kenaf extractive free. Furthermore, TGA demonstrated improvement after addition of 2% SKNC into PVA as well as DSC increased the melting point of PVA.