Mechanical and thermal properties of kaolin/Natural rubber nanocomposites prepared by the conventional two-roll mill method

摘要

Nanocomposites consisting of natural rubber (NR) reinforced with the modified kaolin were fabricated. The effect of modified kaolin loading on the mechanical properties of the vulcanizates was examined by varying its incorporation (20-50 phr). The NR-based nanocomposites were characterized using the transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Instron tensile machine and thermal analyser. These filled NR composites exhibit outstanding mechanical properties and much higher thermal stability compared to the pure NR. The hardness and tensile properties increased with increasing filler loading and an optimum of tensile strength was achieved at 50 phr of modified kaolin. The morphological studies by TEM revealed that kaolinite layers were finely dispersed into the natural rubber matrix and orientationally arranged in parallel.