Epoxidized natural rubber/silane modified silica nanocomposites prepared in latex stage

Abstract

Epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) was synthesized from natural rubber (NR) latex via in situ epoxidation using HCOOH and H2O2. The prepared ENR with 22 mol% epoxidation (ENR-22) was reinforced with silane modified silica (SMS) nanoparticles with different SMS loading in latex stage. The tensile properties, thermal stability, oil resistance and morphology of the ENR-22/SMS nanocomposites were investigated. The tensile strength was improved significantly and gained the maximum point at 7.5 phr SMS content. The thermogravimetric analysis showed an increased initial degradation temperature with the addition of SMS, suggesting higher thermal stability of the nanocomposites. The oil resistance of ENR-22/SMS nanocomposites in IRM 901 oil and IRM 903 oil were increased with the increasing amount of SMS content, indicating having improved oil resistance. The morphology revealed that the dispersions of SMS have been significantly improved since most of the spherical clusters of nanoparticles were individually scattered among the ENR matrix.