BIODEGRADATION, MORPHOLGICAL, AND FTIR STUDY OF RATTAN POWDER-FILLED NATURAL RUBBER COMPOSITES AS A FUNCTION OF FILLER LOADING AND A SILANE COUPLING AGENT

Natural rubber (NR) composites were prepared by the incorporation of rattan (Calamus Manan) powder at filler loadings in the range of 0 to 30 phr into a natural rubber matrix with a laboratory size two roll mill. The particle size of rattan powder was less than 180 µm. The biodegradation of the rattan powder-filled natural rubber (NR) composites were investigated as a function of filler loading and a silane coupling agent. A soil burial test was carried out for six months, and the degradation of the NR compound and the NR composites was evaluated through tensile testing. Morphological properties were determined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to evaluate the degradation of the samples after six months of soil exposure. The results indicate that the tensile strength, elongation at break, and stress at 100% elongation (M 100) all decreased after soil burial testing due to the biological attack by microbes onto the sample. Improvement in tensile properties was seen with the addition of the silane coupling agent due to better adhesion between the rattan filler and the rubber matrix. The deterioration in tensile properties due to the biodegradation process was confirmed by SEM and FTIR studies.