A review: Recent development of natural fiber-reinforced polymer nanocomposites

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a rising awareness on non-renewable resources and environmental sustainability. This has bolstered researchers’ efforts to design more environmentally friendly materials with a focus on sustainability, and transitioning from the use of synthetic to natural materials. Natural fibers can potentially be an alternative to synthetic fibers as reinforcement materials, used in various industries. However, a comprehensive investigation is necessary in order to understand in depth of natural fiber reinforced polymer composites development towards nanocomposites. Therefore, this review article outlines the recent development of polymeric composites materials with the use of natural fibers and nanomaterials in this review. The incorporation of natural fibers, fillers and nanomaterials has been shown to improve polymers’ mechanical properties, microwave and sound absorption as well as additional quality such as flame retardation. Emphasis has been placed on the use of oil palm fibers and cellulose nanocrystals as fillers. Their applications, future prospects together with the main challenge in fabricating nanocomposites are also presented.