Enhancing the performance of natural rubber by employing modified expanded graphite at varying expansion volumes

Abstract

Diverse expansion volumes of expanded graphite (EG) were synthesized utilizing the chemical oxidation technique, and modified EG was produced by coating EG with distinct expansion ratios employing polyacrylate. The modified EG/natural rubber (NR) composites were fabricated using the modified EG, and the impacts of varying expansion volumes of EG on the mechanical and thermal characteristics of these composites were scrutinized. The findings revealed that following polyacrylate modification, the surface roughness and active groups of EG experienced a substantial increase. The tensile strength of the composite material escalated in correlation with the expansion volume of the modified EG, exhibiting an enhancement of 81.72%. The elongation at break, stress at a specified elongation, and thermal conductivity demonstrated a pattern of initially increasing and subsequently decreasing as the expansion volume increased. The thermal conductivity of the material reached its peak at an EG expansion volume of 20 g/mL, with a thermal conductivity of 0.569, and an overall favorable mechanical performance.