THE Effect of Azido-Starch as Filler on Tensile and Tear Properties of Natural Rubber Latex Films

Abstract

The azido starch/Natural Rubber (azo-starch/NR) latex films were prepared with control (0), 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 phr of azido-starch loadings. The azido starch functional groups were characterized by Fourier Transform Infra- Red (FTIR) analysis to observe the presence of significant peaks of azide (N3).The control and azido starch-filled NR films were subjected to tensile test and tear test in order to investigate the effect of the addition of azido-starch on the mechanical properties of azo-starch/NR latex films. The tensile strength of azo-starch/NR latex films was increased with increasing azido-starch loading and slightly decreased after 1.0 phr loading. The optimum tensile strength of azo-starch/NR latex films is obtained at 1.0 phr loading. The moduli (M100 and M300) and tear strength also increased with increasing azido-starch loading. However, the elongation at break (EB) was almost similar with increasing azido-starch loading. The swelling test was done to determine the swelling index, crosslink density and rubber-filler interaction of azo-starch/NR films. The swelling index was decreased but the crosslink density increased with increasing azido-starch loading indicating the formation of crosslinks between azido-starch and rubber macromolecules.