Development of a novel regenerated cellulose composite material

•Blending of cellulose and the waste material duck feather to create novel renewable composite.•Blending was achieved using ionic liquids.•The helical structure of the duck feather retained after regeneration.•New composites shows significant improvement in elasticity and thermal stability compared to regenerated cellulose alone.•SEM reveals a continuous morphology suggesting complete blending of cellulose and duck feather.

We report for the first time on a new natural composite material achieved by blending cotton and duck feather using an ionic liquid. The addition of duck feather was found to improve the elasticity, strain at break, by 50% when compared to regenerated cellulose alone. This is a significant finding since regenerated cotton using ionic liquids often suffers from poor elasticity. The improved elasticity is likely due to the regenerated duck feather maintaining its helical structure. The new regenerated cellulose composites were characterized using a combination of dynamic mechanical analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis, contact angle measurements and scanning electron microscopy.