An Investigation on the Effect of the Surface Modifications and HNTs loading on the Cure behaviours, Abrasion Resistance, Mechanical and Morphological Properties of NR/EPDM

Abstract

Abstract Research was conducted to investigate the modification of natural halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) using amino silanes, namely (γ-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES) and Diethoxydimethyl silane (DMS). The impact of these modified HNTs, referred to as APTES-HNTs and DMS-HNTs, on various properties of nanocomposites made from natural rubber (NR) and ethylene-propylene-diene monomer (EPDM) was studied. The properties examined included cure characteristics, tensile properties, hardness, rebound resilience, and compression set qualities of the NR/EPDM nanocomposites. Swelling and cross-link density measurements, abrasion resistance analysis, and fracture morphology examination using FESEM were also performed to validate the experimental outcomes. Utilizing APTES-HNTs as fillers resulted in noteworthy improvements in multiple attributes such as tensile strength, stress at 100% elongation, abrasion resistance, hardness, tear strength, and curing behavior. Notably, the APTES-HNTs filled nanocomposites demonstrated superior resistance to swelling when compared to both HNTs and DMS-HNTs. The enhanced interaction between the filler and rubber matrix, owing to the increased contact surface area, contributed to advancements in mechanical properties and resistance to swelling. Comparing nanocomposites with a base vulcanizate, the incorporation of 10 parts per hundred rubber (phr) APTES-HNTs led to a 36% reduction in abrasion loss. The research findings indicated that the addition of 8 phr APTES-HNTs could potentially increase tensile strength, elongation at break, and stress at 100% elongation by approximately 112%, 31%, and 66%, respectively.