Processing and characterization of reclaimed rubber composite materials

The dynamic mechanical properties of environment-friendly elastomeric composites consisting of reclaimed rubber (r-rubber), a waste product of roller processing of textile mill, and organic hindered phenol compound 4,4'-thio-bis(6-tert-butyl-m-methyl phenol) (AO-300) were investigated. With incorporation of AO-300 into the r-rubber, the storage modulus (E') and loss modulus (E '') of r-rubber were found to increase sharply, the maximum loss factor (tan delta) peak value increased from 0.49 to 1.01, and tan delta peak position was significantly shifted from 6.19 to 34.42 degrees C, indicating that r-rubber/AO-300 composite is a promising damping material. Furthermore, r-rubber/AO-300 systems exhibited an exceptional damping performance in the wide temperature range and with increasing AO-300 content, the effective temperature range increased from 55.32 to 63.14 degrees C. Meanwhile, the presence of intermolecular hydrogen bonds in the composite was confirmed by FTIR. Furthermore, from the SEM analysis of various r-rubber/AO-300 systems, it could be seen that by introduction of a small amount of AO-300 to the r-rubber, a typical complex morphology and hybrid state were coexistent in the composites. When the AO-300 content was larger than the critical value, more excess AO-300 molecules were crystallized. Thus, a new type of environment-friendly r-rubber based high-performance damping materials with a broad temperature range of damping behavior was developed.