Effect Of Polystyrene-Modified Natural Rubber (SNR) On Mechanial Properties Of Waste Natural Rubber Latex/Polystyrene Blend (WNRL/PS).

Interests on recycling of rubber products are augmenting due to the serious environmental hazard. Furthermore, recycling give economic advantages cheaper materials could be produced

Investigation on oil absorption and microstructural properties of polyethylene composites reinforced with post-agricultural waste fillers

Conventional plastic made from polyethylene (PE) is not able to absorb excess oil from the fried food due to its nature to resist water and oil. As a result, oil inside fried food plastic packaging will be accumulated and will affect the freshness and shelf life of the product. To address this issue, polyethylene incorporated post-agricultural waste filler which is rice husk (RH) and rice husk ash (RHA) is produced. Five levels of filler loading which are 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 in weight percent were incorporated into the PE to produce RH-PE and RHA-PE composites. Tests were performed to evaluate the oil absorption and microstructural properties of the composites. The results showed that the addition of fillers at any loading percentages resulted in significant improvement on the oil absorption of the composites as compared to control sample which is PE. The RH-PE and RHA-PE composites with 25% of fillers were found to possess the best oil absorption property as compared to other compositions. An increase in the loading of fillers would lead to some large agglomeration, high amount of spaces between rice husk and polyethylene and subsequently allow more oil to be absorbed into the composite. It proved that R RH-PE and RHA-PE composites with optimum composition have a great potential to be a good oil absorbent material

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

Nanocomposites of 80/20 (w/w) natural rubber (NR)/styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) blend with four loadings of either nanosized titanium dioxide (nTiO2) or polystyrene-encapsulated nTiO2 (PS-nTiO2), ranging from 3 to 9 parts by weight per hundred of rubber (phr), were prepared by latex casting method. The PS-nTiO2 synthesized via in situ differential microemulsion polymerization displayed a core-shell morphology (nTiO2 core and PS shell) with an average diameter of 42 nm. The cure characteristics (scorch time, cure time, and cure rate index), mechanical properties (tensile properties, tear strength, and hardness), thermal stability, glass transition temperature, and morphology of the prepared nanocomposites were quantified and compared. The results showed that the cure characteristics of all the nanocomposites were not significantly changed compared to those of the neat NR/SBR blend. The inclusion of an appropriate amount of either nTiO2 or PS-nTiO2 into the NR/SBR blend apparently improved the tensile strength, modulus at 300% strain, tear strength, hardness, and thermal stability but deteriorated the elongation at break of the nanocomposites. Based on differential scanning calorimetry, the glass transition temperature of all the nanocomposites was similar to that of the neat NR/SBR blend. Moreover, the morphology of the PS-nTiO2-filled rubber nanocomposites fractured surface analyzed by scanning electron microscopy showed an improvement in the interfacial adhesion between the rubber phase and the nanoparticles

Use of TBzTD as Noncarcinogenic Accelerator for ENR/SiO2 Nanocomposites: Cured Characteristics, Mechanical Properties, Thermal Behaviors, and Oil Resistance

This study reported the use of tetrabenzylthiuram disulphide (TBzTD) as a noncarcinogenic accelerator in a traditional sulfur curing system of epoxidized natural rubber (ENR)/nanosilica (nSiO2) composites. ENR used in this work was synthesized via in situ epoxidation of natural rubber (NR) in the presence of performic acid generated from the reaction of formic acid and hydrogen peroxide at 50°C for 8 h to acquire the epoxide content of about 40 mol%. Accordingly, the resulting ENR was referred to as ENR 40. The curing characteristics, mechanical properties, thermal behaviors, dynamic mechanical properties, and oil resistance of ENR 40/nSiO2 nanocomposites filled with three loadings of nSiO2 (1, 2, and 3 parts per hundred parts of rubber) were investigated and compared with NR and neat ENR 40. The results revealed that the scorch and cure times of ENR 40/nSiO2 nanocomposites were slightly longer than those of NR but slightly shorter than those of ENR 40. The tensile properties and tear strength for both before and after aging of all ENR 40/nSiO2 nanocomposites were higher than those of ENR 40, while the glass transition temperature, storage modulus at −65°C, thermal stability, and oil resistance of ENR 40/nSiO2 nanocomposites were higher than those of NR and ENR 40