The fabrication and properties of natural rubber-clay nanocomposites

Natural rubber-clay (NR-clay) nanocomposites were prepared by blending on a two roll mill. Organomodified Cloisite clay was used in this study. The effect of concentration of clay, type of clay and vulcanizing systems on the mechanical properties of nanocomposites were studied in detail. NR-clay nanocomposites were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis. X-ray results suggest that the intergallery distance is increased in all samples studied. There is good improvement in properties like tensile strength, elongation at break and modulus on incorporation of nanoclay in NR. TEM photographs show that exfoliation of the clay occurred at a concentration of 5 phr of cloisite 20A.