Abstract:

NR/HMT (Natural Rubber/Organo-Montmorillonite)nanocomposites were prepared with an organic modified montmorillonite and a novel reinforcing accelerator by means of mixing intercalation method.The structu and morphology of the prepared nanocomposites were then characterized by XRD and TEM,and the interaction be-tween montmorillonite and rubber was investigated by the apparent crosslinking density determination and the infra-red spectral analysis.Moreover,the intercalation process of rubber chains into the montmorillonite interlayers in the mixing and curing processes was researched by XRD.The results show that montmorillonite can disperse in the rub-ber matrix in a nanoscale,that the reinforcing accelerator can enhance the interaction between montmorillonite and rubber,that the intercalation of the macromolecular chains of natural rubber into the interlayers of montmorillonite begins in the mixing process and mostly completes in the induced period of vulcanization before the scorch time point,that the dispersion of montmorillonite in a nanoscale is further improved in the curing period till to a complete vulcanization.and that the mechanical and dynamic mechanical properties of NR/HMT nanocomposites with 2%~10% of mass ration of HMT to NR are superior to those of the vulcanizate with 40% of mass ration of N770 carbon black to NR.

Key words: mixing intercalation method, natural rubber, montmorillonite, nanocomposite