No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Thermoplastic chitosan/natural rubber blends (Cs/NR) were prepared from natural rubber latex and chitosan by solution casting technique. The blends were characterized by mechanical analysis (stress-strain) and the mechanical properties were found to vary with chitosan/natural rubber ratios. Experimental values were compared with different theoretical models. Effect of thermal aging on mechanical properties was also investigated. Dicumyl peroxide was used as the crosslinking agent. The effect of crosslinking on mechanical properties of Cs/NR has also been studied.

This article discusses properties such as surface hardness, solvent uptake, cross-link density, diffusion coefficient, and tensile properties of vulcanized natural rubber (NR)/chitosan (CS) blends. Dicumyl peroxide was selected as a cross-linking agent. In the case of tensile properties, peroxide vulcanized blends show higher tensile strength and hardness (Shore A) than the unvulcanized blend. The effect of thermal aging on mechanical properties of vulcanized NR/CS blends was also examined. The solvent-resistance properties of these vulcanized blends were investigated by the equilibrium swelling method using benzene as solvent. The impact of weight fraction of chitosan on the transport properties of vulcanized blend was also analyzed. The improved solvent resistance for peroxide vulcanized blends proved the formation of crosslinks in the rubber phase. The blends showed reduced swelling rate due to the tortuosity of the path and the reduced transport area in blended samples.