Physicomechanical properties of wollastonite (CaSiO3)/styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) nanocomposites

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of bare wollastonite (BW) and modified wollastonite (MW) nanorods into the styrene butadiene rubber (SBR). SBR nanocomposites were prepared by the incorporation of different wt % (0.3-4.5) of BW and MW nanorods. All nanocomposites were characterized by thermal gravimetric analyzer (TGA) and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The particle size and morphology of BW and MW nanorods were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrophotometer, while FE-SEM and AFM analyses were performed for BW/SBR and MW/SBR nanocomposites. The obtained results revealed the existence of stronger interaction between the SBR and MW nanorods into MW/SBR as compared to BW/SBR nanocomposites. FE-SEM and AFM images showed a perfect dispersion of the MW nanorods in SBR matrix at 3 wt % loading. Thermal stability of MW/SBR nanocomposites was also increased significantly by the addition of MW nanorods. (C) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.