Effect of ground tyre rubber content on self-healing properties of natural rubber composites

In this investigation, we study the influence of the loading of ground tyre rubber (GTR), referred to as rubber dust 40 mesh (RD40), on the intrinsic self-healing natural rubber (NR) based on metal-thiolate ionic networks. The loading of RD40 particles was varied at 10, 20, and 30 phr to assess the optimum amount for interfacial bonding, mechanical and dynamic properties, and healing efficiency. The quantitative measurement of metal-thiolate ion networks and covalent crosslinks was assessed through swelling tests. The effects of RD40 loading on the dynamic mechanical properties and morphological characteristics were also investigated. Tensile properties of the rubbers before and after healing were measured using universal testing tester to obtain healing efficiency of the materials. The results showed that the developed materials have the ability to autonomously repair themselves at room temperature without the need for manual intervention. The results also revealed the tensile strength and elongation at break of self-healing NRs filled with 10 phr of RD40 were recovered 92 % and 93 %, respectively. The findings demonstrated the benefits of utilizing GTR as an effective sustainable filler and advanced the understanding of self-healing strategies and the interaction between ground tyre rubber and rubber matrices.