Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Oct 21;15(20):4183.
doi: 10.3390/polym15204183.

Eco-Friendly Natural Rubber-Jute Composites for the Footwear Industry

Giovanni Barrera Torres  1 , Carlos T Hiranobe  2 , Erivaldo Antonio da Silva  3 , Guilherme P Cardim  2 , Henrique P Cardim  4 , Flavio C Cabrera  2 , Elizabeth R Lozada  5 , Carlos M Gutierrez-Aguilar  1 , Juan C Sánchez  6   7 , Jaime A Jaramillo Carvalho  6   7 , Aldo E Job  8 , Renivaldo J Santos  2
Affiliations

Eco-Friendly Natural Rubber-Jute Composites for the Footwear Industry

Giovanni Barrera Torres et al. Polymers (Basel). .

Abstract

Nowadays, biocomposites represent a new generation of materials that are environmentally friendly, cost-effective, low-density, and not derived from petroleum. They have been widely used to protect the environment and generate new alternatives in the polymer industry. In this study, we incorporated untreated jute fibers (UJFs) and alkaline-treated jute fibers (TJFs) at 1-5 and 10 phr into TSR 10 natural rubber as reinforcement fillers. These composites were produced to be used in countersole shoes manufacturing. Untreated fibers were compared to those treated with 10% sodium hydroxide. The alkali treatment allowed the incorporation of fibers without compromising their mechanical properties. The TJF samples exhibited 8% less hardness, 70% more tensile strength, and the same flexibility compared to their pure rubber counterparts. Thanks to their properties and ergonomic appearance, the composites obtained here can be useful in many applications: construction materials (sound insulating boards, and flooring materials), the automotive industry (interior moldings), the footwear industry (shoe soles), and anti-static moldings. These new compounds can be employed in innovative processes to reduce their carbon footprint and negative impact on our planet. Using the Lorenz-Park equation, the loaded composites examined in this study exhibited values above 0.7, which means a competitive load-rubber interaction. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to investigate the morphology of the composites in detail.

Keywords: eco-friendly composites; jute fibers; natural rubber; rubber composites.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
SEM micrographs of UJFs at 500× (a) and 2000× (b) magnifications and TJFs at 500× (c) and 2000× (d) magnifications.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Crosslinking density of NR/UJF and NR/TJF composites.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Variation in Qf/Qg versus e−z in composites vulcanized with untreated jute fiber.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Variation in Qf/Qg versus e−z in composites vulcanized with treated jute fibers.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Effect of filler loading on the Qf/Qg of composites vulcanized with untreated jute fibers.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Effect of filler loading on the Qf/Qg of composites vulcanized with treated jute fibers.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Volume lost from the NR/UJF and NR/TJF composites during the abrasion tests.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Abrasion resistance indices of the composites.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Tensile strength of composites.
Figure 10
Figure 10
SEM micrographs with 200 magnification of NR/UJF at 1 phr (a), 5 phr (b), and 10 phr (c), and NR/TJF at 1 phr (d), 5 phr (e), and 10 phr (f).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ramesh M., Palanikumar K., Reddy K.H. Plant Fibre Based Bio-Composites: Sustainable and Renewable Green Materials. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 2017;79:558–584. doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2017.05.094. - DOI
    1. Datta J., Włoch M. Preparation, Morphology and Properties of Natural Rubber Composites Filled with Untreated Short Jute Fibres. Polym. Bull. 2017;74:763–782. doi: 10.1007/s00289-016-1744-x. - DOI
    1. George J., Sreekala M.S., Thomas S. A Review on Interface Modification and Characterization of Natural Fiber Reinforced Plastic Composites. Polym. Eng. Sci. 2001;41:1471–1485. doi: 10.1002/pen.10846. - DOI
    1. John M.J., Thomas S. Biofibres and Biocomposites. Carbohydr. Polym. 2008;71:343–364. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2007.05.040. - DOI
    1. Stelescu M.D., Manaila E., Craciun G., Chirila C. Development and Characterization of Polymer Eco-Composites Based on Natural Rubber Reinforced with Natural Fibers. Materials. 2017;10:787. doi: 10.3390/ma10070787. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources