Effects of different types of surfactants functionalized on the surface of carbon nanotubes on the mechanical & thermal properties of natural rubber/CNT nano composite

Abstract

The use of CNT in the production of rubber -nanocomposites have been on the increase since they were discovered in early 1990s. This has been attributed to excellent physical and mechanical properties which they posses. The use of CNT for reinforcement in rubbers offers several advantages over mineral fillers such as carbon black and silicates. For instance, little amount of CNT is required to obtain significant improvement while for mineral fillers large amount is required for any significant improvement to be observed. This often results in lightweight high performance materials. However, the use of CNT as reinforcement filler in rubber is yet to be fully established as the experimentally obtained results are still below theoretically predicted values. Agglomeration of CNT, poor dispersion within the rubber matrix and poor interaction between CNT and the matrix are some of the factors responsible for such observation. To solve these problems and to improve on the performance of CNT as fillers, several steps have been suggested. These include surface modification, sonication, use of solution blending and in situ polymerization. In this study, the CNT surface was oxidized using concentrated acid and subsequently functionalized using different (Octadecanol, Phenol and Dodecylamine) surfactants. The effect of the oxidized CNT as well as each functionalized CNT on the mechanical and thermal properties of natural rubber (RSS1) was investigated.