Application of polymethylmethacrylate-grafted cellulose as reinforcement for compatibilised polylactic acid/natural rubber blends

•Addition of cell-g-PMMA improves the mechanical properties of biocomposites.•Addition of cell-g-PMMA increases the water contact angle of biocomposites.•Degradation of biocomposites decreases with an increase in cell-g-PMMA content.•Weight loss after burial was higher for biocomposites than for the polymer alone. In this study, modified agave cellulose fibre combined by graft copolymerisation with methylmethacrylate was tested as a potential reinforcement for polylactic acid (PLA)-natural rubber/liquid natural rubber blends. Mechanical, morphological, thermal, wetting, and biodegradation characterisations were performed to assess the influence of cellulose-graft-polymethylmethacrylate (cell-g-PMMA) content on the properties of biocomposites. The addition of cell-g-PMMA improved the mechanical properties of the composites because of the chemical interaction between PLA and PMMA. Thermal stability decreased slightly upon cell-g-PMMA addition because of the low thermal stability of PMMA. A soil burial test revealed that the degradation of composites decreased with an increase in the cell-g-PMMA content. However, the weight loss after burial, which directly affected the water absorption capacity, was still higher for the cell-g-PMMA composites than for the polymer alone.