Comparative study on carboxylated styrene butadiene rubber composites reinforced by hybrid fillers of rice bran carbon and graphite carbon

In the present work, a comparative study of the mechanical behavior of two series of elastomeric composites, based on carboxylated styrene butadiene rubber (X-SBR) and reinforced with rice bran carbon (RBC) and graphite, is reported. Hybrid composites of X-SBR filled with RBC-graphite were also investigated in terms of the cure characteristics, hardness, tensile properties, abrasion resistance, and swelling. It was observed that the cure times decreased with the incorporation of a carbon filler whereas the torque difference, tensile strength, tensile modulus, hardness, and swelling resistance increased compared to the neat X-SBR revealing a favorable characteristic of crosslinking. Dynamic rheological analysis showed that the G' values of the composites, upon the addition of RBC-graphite, were changed to some extent. This demonstrates that the presence of a strongly developed network of fillers will ensure a reinforcing characteristic in a polymer matrix.