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Improved mechanical properties and special reinforcement mechanism of natural rubber reinforced by in situ polymerization of zinc dimethacrylate
Author(s) -
Nie Yijing,
Huang Guangsu,
Liu Zhiyuan,
Qu Liangliang,
Zhang Peng,
Weng Gengsheng,
Wu Jinrong
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.31612
Subject(s) - natural rubber , crystallization , materials science , ultimate tensile strength , vulcanization , polymerization , composite material , zinc , swelling , reinforcement , ionic strength , polymer chemistry , chemical engineering , polymer , chemistry , aqueous solution , organic chemistry , engineering , metallurgy
The peroxide‐cured natural rubber (NR) was reinforced by in situ polymerization of zinc dimethacrylate (ZDMA). The experimental results showed NR could be greatly reinforced by ZDMA. The tensile strength and the hardness of NR/ZDMA composites increased with the content of ZDMA. The reinforcement mechanism was studied further. Both high crosslinking density provided by ionic crosslinking and strain‐induced crystallization improved the mechanical properties. The crosslinking density was determined by an equilibrium swelling method and the crystallization index was measured by Wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction (WXRD). When the amount of ZDMA was high, the ability of strain‐induced crystallization decreased, due to the strong interactions between the rubber phase and the hard poly‐ZDMA (PZDMA) nanodispersions. At the moment, the increasing ionic crosslinking density made up for the effect of the drop of the strain‐induced crystallization, and played a more important role in the reinforcement. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010