Effect of the aspect ratio of silicate platelets on the mechanical and barrier properties of hydrogenated acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (HNBR)/layered silicate nanocomposites

The role of the aspect ratio of the layered silicate platelets on the mechanical and oxygen permeation properties of hydrogenated nitrile rubber (HNBR)/organophilic layered silicate nanocomposites was investigated. Montmorillonite (MMT) and fluorohectorite (FHT) bearing the same type of intercalant (i.e., octadecylamine; ODA), however, showing different aspect ratio was involved in this study. The dispersion of the layered silicates was assessed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. Increasing aspect ratio (MMT < FHT) resulted in higher stiffness under uniaxial tensile loading. The dispersion state (“secondary structure”) of the organophilic layered silicates reduced dramatically the oxygen permeability of the rubber matrix based on the labyrinth principle. The lowest oxygen permeability was measured for the HNBR/FHT–ODA films in which the layered silicates had the highest aspect ratio. By varying the FHT–ODA volume fraction in the latter compound the mechanical and permeation properties were measured and modelled. It was found that the modified Guth’s and Nielsen’s equations predicted accurately the mechanical and permeation responses, respectively.