Structure and Properties of Hydrogenated Nitrile-Butadiene Rubber/organo montmorillonite Nanocomposites

Organo-montmorillonite (OMMT) was compounded with Hydrogenated Nitrile-Butadiene Rubber (HNBR) (50% epoxidation) to prepare nanocomposites by melt mixing method. The nanometer scales of organoclays in rubber matrix were determined by X-ray diffraction testing, the exfoliated/intercalated structures of OMMT in HNBR were confirmed by transmission elector microscopy. The increases in tensile module and strength of HNBR/OMMT nanocomposites vulcanizaters were caused by the better interactions between rubber macromolecule chains and organoclay layers. The air-aging properties of nanocomposites enhanced by the increasing content of OMMT, which was leaded by the barrier characterize of nano-disperse OMMT layers. DMA test showed that the Tgs of HNBR/OMMT shifted to a higher temperature, as verified by the crosslinking density determination.