Thermal Degradation of Synthetic Rubber Nanocomposites

Abstract

In recent years, synthetic rubbers nanocomposites have captured and held the attention of scientists because are the materials for the future, which have improved resistance to thermal degradation and stability of the nanocomposite. Commonly fillers like layered silicates, carbonaceous nanofillers (carbon nanotubes, carbon naanofibers and exfoliated nanographite), spherical particles (Silica, TiO2, ZnO, CaSO4, CaCO3, ZnFe2O4) and polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) are used for reinforcing elastomers. This new materials exhibit enhanced properties at very low filler level, usually ≤5 wt%. The properties of rubber nanocomposites strongly depend on the dispersion state of fillers and method of preparation. The effect to different nanoparticles on rubber properties is studied with thermal stability. This is mainly studied using TGA, TGA-MS, TGA-FTIR and other techniques. The thermal degradation mechanism of the rubber synthetic nanocomposites is generally considered to be related to the kind of used nanoparticles and its amount, the interactions between inorganic nanoparticles and polymer reactive group. Rubber synthetic nanocomposites play an important role in engineering, automotive, aerospace, construction, packaging and medical devices applications due to is possible to design new materials with unprecedented and improvements in their physical properties, particularly from the perspective of applications.