STUDY OF NBR/PVC/OMMT NANOCOMPOSITES PREPARED BY MECHANICAL BLENDING

The effect of organo-montmorillonite (OMMT) on the properties of acrylonitrile butadiene rubber/polyvinyl chloride/OMMT (NBR/PVC/OMMT) nanocomposites is studied. Four different types of organo-modified OMMT were examined in NBR/PVC blend systems and an optimum type of OMMT (FMR11) was found by characterizing the mechanical properties of NBR/PVC/OMMT hybrids. Then, NBR/PVC/OMMT nanocomposites with various amounts of FMR11 were prepared by direct mechanical blending. The dispersion of OMMT layers and morphology of the nanocomposites were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). Mechanical properties, solvent resistance and thermal stability of nanocomposites were also investigated. TEM revealed that OMMT layers disperse uniformly in NBR/PVC matrix in nano-scale. XRD patterns revealed the intercalation of polymer chains inside the OMMT layer gallery. The tensile strength and tear strength of nanocomposites based on 6.0 phr OMMT improved by 50.0% and 36.9%, respectively compared to gum NBR/PVC hybrids. Solvent resistance properties of nanocomposites showed improvement with higher OMMT contents, which contribute to the excellent barrier effect of OMMT layers.