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Natural Rubber Nanocomposites by In Situ Modification of Clay
Author(s) -
Lowe David J.,
Chapman Andrew V.,
Cook Stuart,
Busfield James J.C.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
macromolecular materials and engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.913
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1439-2054
pISSN - 1438-7492
DOI - 10.1002/mame.201000395
Subject(s) - sepiolite , materials science , nanocomposite , montmorillonite , exfoliation joint , natural rubber , microstructure , composite material , ultimate tensile strength , intercalation (chemistry) , surface modification , filler (materials) , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , graphene , raw material , chemistry , organic chemistry , engineering , inorganic chemistry
The fabrication of nanocomposites by organic modification of clay during mixing into NR is reported. NR/OMMT nanocomposites show more intercalation and exfoliation at higher modifier content, increasing the tensile modulus primarily by improved filler reinforcement. Comparison with nominally identical pre‐modified OMMT shows similar microstructures and physical properties. No effect of mixing duration is observed, indicating that modification is rapid. Unlike montmorillonite, unmodified sepiolite disperses well in NR, so organo‐modification improves compatibility but does not affect the nanocomposite microstructure. This means that organo‐sepiolite offers relatively small improvements over sepiolite as a filler for NR.