Enhancing Dispersion of Silica Nanoparticles with Ammonium Laurate Surfactant for Natural Rubber Latex Composites

Abstract

In-situ silica nanoparticles with ammonium laurate surfactant in natural rubber latex composites were characterized to describe the reinforcement mechanism in enhanced mechanical properties. In-situ sol-gel method was introduced to generate silica nanoparticles in natural rubber latex using a mole ratio of water-to-TEOS of 28.9 stirring at room temperature for 24 hours. The addition and effect of adding ammonium laurate surfactant for enhancing dispersion and compatibility between silica nanoparticles and rubber matrix was also studied. The natural rubber latex was then vulcanized by electron beam radiation at 200 kGy. The silica content in rubber composites made in-situ, was analyzed by TGA, showed an increase from 3.08 phr to 8.92 phr, corresponding to addition of TEOS amounts of 10 phr to 30 phr, respectively. The dispersion of silica nanoparticles in rubber matrix with ammonium laurate surfactant was improved and exhibited less aggregation than rubber composites absent of ammonium laurate surfactant as evidenced by SEM-EDX. The increase of silica content in rubber composites exhibited lower swelling ratio and higher crosslink density when compared with neat natural rubber. Also, the modulus at 100% and 300% strain also increased with increasing silica nanoparticles incorporation in contrast to tensile strength.