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An Investigation on the Effect of the Surface Modifications and HNTs Loading on the Cure behaviours, Abrasion Resistance, Mechanical and Morphological Properties of NR/EPDM Nanocomposites

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Abstract

Research was conducted to investigate the modification of natural halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) using amino silanes, namely (γ-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES) and diethoxydimethyl silane (DMS). The study investigates the influence of modified halloysite nanotubes, specifically APTES-HNTs and DMS-HNTs, on the diverse properties of nanocomposites produced from a blend of natural rubber (NR) and ethylene-propylene-diene monomer (EPDM). The properties examined included cure characteristics, tensile properties, hardness, rebound resilience, and compression set qualities of the NR/EPDM nanocomposites. Swelling and cross-link density measurements, abrasion resistance analysis, and fracture morphology examination using FESEM were also performed to validate the experimental outcomes. Utilizing APTES-HNTs as fillers resulted in noteworthy improvements in multiple attributes such as tensile strength, stress at 100% elongation, abrasion resistance, hardness, tear strength, and curing behavior. Notably, the APTES-HNTs filled nanocomposites demonstrated superior resistance to swelling when compared to both HNTs and DMS-HNTs. The enhanced interaction between the filler and rubber matrix, owing to the increased contact surface area, contributed to advancements in mechanical properties and resistance to swelling. Comparing nanocomposites with a base vulcanizate, the incorporation of 10 parts per hundred rubber (phr) APTES-HNTs led to a 36% reduction in abrasion loss. The research findings indicated that the addition of 8 phr APTES-HNTs could potentially increase tensile strength, elongation at break, and stress at 100% elongation by approximately 112%, 31%, and 66%, respectively.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, SA Engineering College, Chennai, Tamilnadu, 600077, India

    S. Vishvanathperumal, J. Vasanthe Roy, K. N. Ramu & S. Praveenkumar

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Achariya College of Engineering Technology, Achariyapuram, Villianur, Uruvaiyar, Puducherry, 605110, India

    G. Anand

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Contributions

Dr. S. Vishvanathperumal – Experimental work and prepared all figures was done

Mr. J. Vasanthe Roy – Supervise the overall work and Removal of plagiarism from the main manuscript.

Dr. G. Anand, Dr. S. Praveen Kumar & Mr. Ramu K.N – Wrote the main manuscript text.

And then all authors reviewed the main manuscript.

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Correspondence to S. Vishvanathperumal.

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Vishvanathperumal, S., Roy, J.V., Anand, G. et al. An Investigation on the Effect of the Surface Modifications and HNTs Loading on the Cure behaviours, Abrasion Resistance, Mechanical and Morphological Properties of NR/EPDM Nanocomposites. Silicon 16, 2267–2284 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-023-02837-1

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