Abstract:
Polystyrene grafted natural rubber (PS-GNR) at various grafting percentages was evaluated to improve mechanical property of PS-GNR/natural rubber blends. The PS-GNR copolymer was synthesized by emulsion polymerization at constant temperature of 60°C and controlled the grafting percentage of polystyrene (PS) by graft copolymerization at different reaction times, 15 to 360 min, using potassium persulfate and sodium lauryl sulfate as an initiator and emulsifier, respectively. The core-shell structure of PS-GNR was confirmed via transmission electron microscopy. The PS grafting percentages were determined to be 12.7%, 17.1%, 22.1%, and 23.6% for corresponding reaction times at 15 min, 60 min, 120 min, and 360 min, respectively. The effect of PS grafting percentage on mechanical behavior of PS-GNR/NR vulcanizates was investigated. The mechanical properties include tensile, tear, hardness and dynamic mechanical properties. The tensile strength and tear strength of NR vulcanizates decreased with addition of PS-GNR and continued to decrease with further increase in PS grafting percentage. A decrease in elasticity of NR chain with incorporation of rigid chains of PS grafted onto NR was responsible for lower tensile and tear strength. On the other hand, Youngs modulus and hardness of PS-GNR/NR were found to increase with increasing PS grafting percentage. The SEM micrograph of fracture surfaces confirmed a reduction in ductility of NR matrix with increasing PS grafting percentage. These results exhibited the biphasic behavior of PS-GNR in NR. The addition of PS-GNR was also shown to enhance the storage modulus of NR vulcanizates and increase with further increase in PS grafting percentage.
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