Tensile Properties and Morphology of Recycled Latex Glove Filled Epoxidized Natural Rubber (ENR50) Compounds

Abstract

The effects on the properties of recycled latex glove (RL-G) filled Epoxidized Natural Rubber (ENR 50) were studied. Both compounds were prepared by two roll mill at five different compositions of RL-G (5, 15, 25, 35 and 50 phr). The size range of RL-G particles i.e., S1 (300μm-700μm) and S2 (3cm-5cm) were used. The properties such as tensile properties (tensile strength, elongation at break, and stress at 100% elongation) and morphology studies were determined. The results indicated that the both size, S1 and S2 of recycled latex glove filled ENR 50 blends exhibited an increased in tensile strength and elongation at break for increasing weight ratio of RL-G. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the fracture surfaces shows that the fine size, S1 RL-G/ENR50 exhibited high surface roughness and matrix tearing lines than the coarse size, S2 thus improving the compatibility of RL-G/ENR50 compounds. The results overall indicated that the fine size, S1of RL-G filled ENR50 contributed to the better properties such as tensile strength and surface morphology compared to the coarse size, S2 mainly at 15 phr of RL-G content.