The Effect of Strain in Curing Process on Morphology and Mechanical Properties of Natural Rubber/Organoclay Nanocomposites

In this paper, two methods were used for the preparation of natural rubber/organoclay nanocomposites including ordinary method and curin under strain. The single networked natural rubber nanocomposites were used as comparison. The effects of organoclay with different extension ratio on mechanical properties, hardness, swelling behaviour and morphology of ordinary and extended natural rubber nanocomposites were studied. The results showed that extended natural rubber nanocomposites exhibit higher physical and mechanical properties. The tensile strength of extended natural rubber nanocomposites increased up to more 4 times than pure natural rubber and then decreased with increasing extension ratio. Modulus and hardness continuously increased with increased extension ratio. The microstructure of the natural rubber/organoclay systems was studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Following, the effect of different extension ratios on dispersion of nanoclay layers in nanocomposites were investigated.