The Synergistic effect of nanoclay/nanosilica on mechanical properties and swelling resistance of ternary rubber (NR/SBR/NBR) blends nanocomposites

Abstract

Abstract In this research, we delve into the influence of hybrid filler loading, comprising both nanoclay and nanosilica (NC/NS), on the mechanical properties and resistance to swelling in ternary rubber nanocomposites composed of natural rubber (NR), styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), and nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR). In this investigation, the composition of NR/SBR/NBR was kept constant at 30/30/40 phr, while the nanoclay was maintained at 6 phr and the proportion of nanosilica was varied from 0 to 6 phr. The nanocomposites were meticulously prepared through a melt mixing technique. Subsequently, we conducted an exhaustive assessment of their mechanical properties, encompassing parameters such as tensile strength, stress at 100% elongation (M100), elongation at break (EB), tear strength, compression set, hardness, rebound resilience, and abrasion resistance. Our findings reveal a discernible trend: as the nanosilica loading increased in the presence of the SCA, several key characteristics exhibited significant improvements. Specifically, the minimum torque, maximum torque, cure rate index, tensile strength, M100, tear strength, compression set, hardness, and crosslink density all showcased notable increases. In contrast, scorch time, cure time, EB %, and mole percent uptake (MPU) demonstrated a consistent decrease.