Advances and prospects of corn husk as a sustainable material in composites and other technical applications

Corn husk is generated as a by-product during the processing and collection of corn, the second largest agricultural crop of the whole planet. The use of these by-products is currently being studied due to their rich availability, less expense, and biodegradability. In association with extraction of nanocellulose, reinforcement in composites and utilization as adsorbents, corn husk has been explored in technical applications. There are a variety of advantages of corn husk reinforced composites, including enhanced mechanical properties, heat resistance, sound absorption, and flame resistance. In this review, we present an overview of the by-products of corn plants and discuss how chemical composition of corn husk is affected by the source and chemical treatment. The utilization of corn husk in a wide variety of fields, like nanocomposites, bioplastics, wood plastic composites, flame retardant and polymer composites, paper production, as potential source of anthocyanins, adsorbent, acoustic panel, electrochemical applications, infrastructure, and medicine are discussed comprehensively. In addition to evaluating the limitations and prospects of corn husk, the directions for future research have also been explored in detail.