Mechanical and thermal properties of Moringa oleifera cellulose-based epoxy nanocomposites

Cellulose nanowhiskers were prepared by acid hydrolysis of drumstick fruit fibers from Moringa oleifera. It was incorporated into thermosetting epoxy matrix at various weight fractions (0.06, 0.12 or 0.18 wt%) to investigate their effect on the mechanical and thermal properties of resulting epoxy resin composite. Drumstick fruit nanofibers slightly increased the thermal stability of the prepared composites. The tensile modulus (31.4%) and bending modulus (38.2%) of the epoxy composites filled with 0.18 wt% cellulose nanowhiskers significantly increased in comparison with that of the neat cured epoxy resin. However, the tensile strength (48.7%) and bending strength (41.6%) of the composites significantly decreased as the 0.18 wt% nanowhiskers were added into the epoxy matrix. The nanowhiskers (0.18 wt%) can be efficiently used in the epoxy matrix to improve considerably the tensile and bending modulus of the composites as well as a slight increase in the thermal stability.