Synergistic effect of graphene with graphene oxide,nanoclay, and nanosilica in enhancing the mechanical and barrier properties of bromobutyl rubber/epoxidized natural rubber composites

The present work aims to investigate the effect of hybrid nanofillers in bromobutyl rubber/epoxidized natural rubber (ENR 50) composites for developing highly air-impermeable nanocomposites. The nanocomposites with hybrid nanofillers were prepared by a simple melt mixing method, and the morphology of the developed nanocomposites was studied using X-Ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. Improvement in the mechanical, barrier and dynamic properties can be observed for hybrid nanocomposites compared to the composites filled with individual graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs). The strong interfacial attraction between GNP monolayers enhance its aggregation in nanocomposites. While, in the current study the results are showing that the addition of graphene oxide, nanoclay, and nanosilica enhances the dispersion of GNP in the composites. The homogeneous dispersion of GNP nanofillers will develop a tortuous pathway in the composites, which are responsible for their air barrier properties. Bound rubber content and dynamic strain measurements (Payne effect) show a maximum value for binary nanocomposites.