Publication: Characterization and properties of sepiolite/organo-modified sepiolites filled natural rubber-styrene butadiene rubber and natural rubber-epoxidised natural rubber blends
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Date
2023-12-01
Authors
Diana Adnanda Nasution
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Abstract
This research work investigated the effect of sepiolite as nanofillers on curing,
mechanical, thermal, and morphological properties of natural rubber-styrene
butadiene rubber (NR/SBR) and natural rubber-epoxidized natural rubber
(NR/ENR-25) blends. The effect of sepiolite loading on properties of sepiolitefilled
NR/SBR and NR/ENR-25 was analysed and compared. Subsequently, a
comparative investigation on water uptake on properties of NR/SBR and NR/ENR-
25 blends containing sepiolite was carried out to assess the efficiency of sepiolite
as reinforcing filler in the blend. The effect of surface modification on sepiolite
particles in a concentrated solution of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)
to produce organo-modified sepiolite was carried out to investigate further
enhancement of properties for NR/SBR blends. It was observed that sepiolite-filled
NR-SBR blends at optimal loadings (3phr) has optimal mechanical properties even
under prolonged water exposure. The nanosize sepiolites, containing hydrous
silicates and metal groups, act as accelerators for vulcanization. While sepiolite
serves as a reinforcement at low loadings, agglomeration effects become dominant
at higher loadings, in which reducing filler-rubber interaction. Moreover, in thermal
analysis, it was found that, sepiolite accelerates char formation, acting as a flame retardant during combustion. In NR/ENR25 blends, sepiolite functions as an
accelerator for vulcanization, exhibiting similar as NR/SBR blends. It was also
found that sepiolite reinforced NR-ENR25 blends and acted as thermal stabilizer
with higher water uptake ability compared to NR/SBR blends. The findings
emphasize the potential applications of sepiolites in optimizing rubber blend
properties, offering insights into their roles as reinforcement, thermal stabilizer, and
flame retardant in various industrial applications.
Keywords: sepiolite fillers, CTAB-sepiolites, natural rubber blends, epoxidized
natural rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, water uptake, blending properties