Human hair reinforced natural rubber composite: effect of hair loading on mechanical, structural, morphological and thermal behaviour

Human hair is a protein fiber and its potential is barely explored. In this study, human hair/natural rubber (NR) composite was prepared by two-roll mixing method. The effect of hair loading on the structural, morphological and thermal behaviour of the composite were investigated. Human hair reinforced composite was characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) followed by various mechanical characterizations. The mechanical properties showed optimum results for low hair concentrations. After the inclusion of human hair in the rubber matrix, the tensile strength increased by 44%, tear strength by 60%, hardness by 144% and the relative abrasion resistance index by 44%. The thermal stability was also retained after the addition of human hair. The enhancements in mechanical properties were substantiated from SEM and AFM analyses and these were attributed to the proper dispersion of cut human hair in the NR matrix.