Cure Characteristics, Tensile Properties and Morphology of Natural Rubber/Organoclay Nanocomposites: Effect of Maleated Natural Rubber

Comparison of effect of compatibilized natural rubber against uncompatibilized natural rubber with respect to organoclay loading (organophilic modified montmorillonite with octadecylamine) on the curing characteristics, tensile properties, thermal stability and morphology were studied. Maleated natural rubber (MANR) was used as the compatibilizer at 6 phr. Organoclay loading from 2 to 10 phr were used as filler in this study. The nanocomposites were compounded using two roll mills and cured at 150 degrees C. The results indicate that the tensile strength and tensile modulus reach maximum at 8 phr of organoclay but elongation at break and thermal stability increase with increasing organoclay loading. Overall results show that organoclay filled NR nanocomposites with MANR exhibit shorter processing time and higher tensile properties than without MANR. The enhanced properties were due to the homogenous dispersion of individual silicate layers in NR matrix supporting the compatibility improvements between NR and organoclay, which is evidenced from the X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results.