Effect of carbon black/nanoclay hybrid filler on the dynamic properties of natural rubber vulcanizates

In this study, natural rubber (NR) nanocomposites based on carbon black (CB) and two poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)‐modified clay hybrid filler were fabricated. The morphology and mechanical properties were studied. The dynamic properties of NR vulcanizates were investigated over a range of strain amplitude at two temperatures. It was found that NR with hybrid filler exhibits superior mechanical properties over that with CB as single phase filler. The hybrid filler causes a significant alteration in the dynamic properties of rubber. The Payne effect becomes more pronounced in rubber with modified clay. A decrease in loss factor (tanδ) was observed for rubber with hybrid filler also. The results revealed that the inclusion of nanoclay (NC) could induce a stronger and more developed filler network. Because of the anisotropy of the nanolayers, NC would depress the reconstruction of filler network, or lower the reformation rates when broken down under deformation, giving rise to lower tanδ value at broad temperature range as well as strain amplitude. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010