Thermophysical and mechanical properties of TiO₂ and silica nanoparticle-filled natural rubber composites

Abstract

The mechanical and thermophysical properties of natural rubber filled with titanium dioxide (TiO2) and nanosilica composites have been investigated at room temperature for several filler concentrations. It is observed that the thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of the composites increase with filler loading, independent of the nature of the filler. We show that the thermal heat transport through composites is affected by the geometry of the fillers as well as the particle size and specific surface area of the fillers. The measured values of thermal conductivity have been compared to some theoretical models. The mechanical properties of the composites have also been studied and results have been correlated with thermal conductivity data.

Nanocomposites of NR/SBR Blend Prepared by Latex Casting Method: Effects of Nano-TiO2 and Polystyrene-Encapsulated Nano-TiO2 on the Cure Characteristics, Physical Properties, and Morphology

“…High-performance elastomeric materials have been produced by developing multicomponent systems in terms of rubber blend and/or rubber nanocomposites [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. Blending of rubbers is an important technique to improve certain properties not inherent in a single rubber, while incorporating an inorganic nanofiller (nanosized filler) even at a very low loading (less than 10 wt%) into rubber matrix by physical mixing has attracted considerable interest for both scientific challenges and industrial applications due to their high-performance properties [2,[4][5][6][7][8][9][11][12][13][14][15][16].…”

“…Blending of rubbers is an important technique to improve certain properties not inherent in a single rubber, while incorporating an inorganic nanofiller (nanosized filler) even at a very low loading (less than 10 wt%) into rubber matrix by physical mixing has attracted considerable interest for both scientific challenges and industrial applications due to their high-performance properties [2,[4][5][6][7][8][9][11][12][13][14][15][16]. Natural rubber (NR) is one of the most important natural biosynthesis polymers, according to its high elasticity, resilience and mechanical properties, low heat build-up and cost, and good formability [1,[4][5][6][7][8][9].…”

“…Hence, NR has been blended with SBR to enhance its abrasion resistance, thermal stability, and oxidative stability [1,4,6]. In this study, NR was blended with SBR in a latex stage to obtain a finer scale dispersion of these two rubber components without phase separation, flocculation, and mastication [6,11,12]. However, the rubbers generally require reinforcing fillers to obtain the desired properties for a variety of applications.…”

“…Nowadays, several inorganic nanofillers such as silica [3,6,8,12], organoclay [4,5], titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) [2,11,12], halloysite nanotubes [13,14], carbon nanotubes [15], and other nanomaterials [7,16] have been exploited for preparing rubber nanocomposites. This is because the nanofillers can offer high stiffness and strength by inhibiting the propagation of cracks and delaying the breakdown of materials, along with an increase in the thermal stability of nanocomposites [2,[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17].…”

“…This is because the nanofillers can offer high stiffness and strength by inhibiting the propagation of cracks and delaying the breakdown of materials, along with an increase in the thermal stability of nanocomposites [2,[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. To achieve the desired properties, the nanofillers must sufficiently disperse in the rubber matrix, as poor dispersion results in deteriorating of the performance properties.…”