Sepiolite hybridized commercial fillers,and their effects on curing process,mechanical properties,thermal stability,and flammability of ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber composites

Ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber (EPDM)-based composites containing sepiolite (sep) hybridized with calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), silica (Sil) or carbon black (CB) were prepared on a two-roll mill. The influence of fillers’ contents on the curing, mechanical, thermal and flammability of the composites was investigated. In comparison with EPDM/sep at 30 parts per hundred rubbers (phr) as a control composite, EPDM/sep/CB composites exhibited an outstanding improvement in tensile strength followed by EPDM/sep/Sil and EPDM/sep/CaCO₃ composites. EPDM/sep/CB displayed the highest thermal stability and also improved flammability resistance. In addition, a higher amount of carbon black gave higher tensile strength. The results were influenced by the ability of CB to disperse well and form protective layers acting as mass transport barriers in the matrix. The field emission scanning electron microscopy analyses proved better dispersion of CB in the matrix. The presence of protective layers on the surface of samples consequently improved the thermal properties of the EPDM composites. The mechanism of formation of char protective layer in hybrid EPDM composites was also investigated based on morphological observations of char residues. According to this work, Sil and CB were able to hybrid with sep, while sep could be a potential substitution of CaCO₃ in the EPDM composites.