Abstract
A new thermoplastic elastomer with improved impact and tensile properties was produced through melt blending of graphene oxide filled nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR-GO) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) without the addition of plasticisers and thermal stabilisers. Nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) compounds, with and without graphene oxide (GO) are prepared through latex compounding method and cured, prior to blending with PVC. The effect of NBR and NBR-GO loading on the process-ability and physico-mechanical properties of PVC blends were evaluated. The addition of NBR and NBR-GO improved tensile strength (TS), impact strength and swelling resistance of PVC. Addition of NBR also increased the stiffness of PVC due to higher elasticity of NBR as compared to PVC. Optimum impact strength, TS and swelling resistance was achieved with the addition of 10 wt. % NBR-GO. Good miscibility between NBR and PVC, and additional reinforcement by GO is responsible for enhancement of impact and TS. NBR-GO showed greater miscibility in PVC as compared to NBR as proven by morphological observation under scanning electron microscope. Morphological observation reveals that micro-cracks formation on PVC/30NBR surface which is responsible for low impact, tensile and swelling properties as compared to PVC/30NBR-GO composite.
Highlights
Graphene oxide (GO) has gained a huge interest as an advanced material among researchers due to its inherent properties such as high surface to volume ratio contributed by the two-dimensional, single layered carbon structure and fully exfoliated GO sheets of large specific surface area
This could be due to the presence of GO particles in Nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) which reduced the elasticity of NBR-GO and helped on better dispersion of NBR-GO in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) as compared to NBR
The reduced elasticity of NBR-GO reduces the shear between the NBR-GO phase and PVC enhancing the dispersion of NBR-GO in PVC as compared to neat NBR
Summary
Graphene oxide (GO) has gained a huge interest as an advanced material among researchers due to its inherent properties such as high surface to volume ratio contributed by the two-dimensional, single layered carbon structure and fully exfoliated GO sheets of large specific surface area. Several researches have been reported on the successful development of graphene filled polymer nanocomposites through in-situ polymerisation, melt mixing and solution blending. Melt mixing is not effective in dispersing graphene sheets as compared to solution blending or in-situ polymerisation due to the increased polymer viscosity at high graphene loading. Graphene filled polymer composites including polystyrene,[14] polyacrylamide, polyimides[15] and PMMA16 was produced through solution blending It was reviewed by Wang et al that solution blending offers a promising approach in dispersing GO platelets into polymer matrix and to achieve a stable GO platelet suspension in polymer matrix as compared to melt mixing and in-situ polymerisation.[14] in this study GO was first dispersed in NBR in latex form through latex compounding and cured in order to produce NBR-GO in solid form. The effects of NBR and NBR-GO loading on the processing torque, tensile properties, impact strength, swelling resistance and morphological properties was studied
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