Effects of carbon nanotubes and graphene on the structure and properties of natural rubber

Abstract

Natural rubber (NR) is an important strategic material for national defense industry. It is also used in the food industry and medicine. However, due to the unsaturated double bond, its aging resistance, mechanical properties and solvent resistance are very poor. In order to improve these properties, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) were used, added at 1 : 1 ratio. TheNR/CNTs/rGO nanocomposites were obtained by mechanical mixing after adding 1, 2, 3 and 4 phr offiller. The influence of the filler content on the structure (TEM), vulcanization properties, abrasion and solvent resistance, mechanical properties, dynamic mechanical properties (DMA) and thermal properties (TGA) of nanocomposites was investigated. Increasing the content of CNTs/rGO increased the crosslinking density of the composites. TEM studies showed that CNTs and graphene sheets were evenly dispersed throughout the NR matrix. They also had good compatibility with the rubber matrix. The addition of CNTs and graphene increased the abrasion and solvent resistance as well as improved the mechanical properties. TGA analysis showed that the nanocomposites had excellent thermal stability. The best properties were obtained with the CNTs/rGO content of 2 phr.