Wanvimon Arayapranee

Effects of Polarity on the Filler-Rubber Interaction and Properties of Silica Filled Grafted Natural Rubber Composites

The grafting of an olefinic monomer like acrylonitrile (AN), methyl methacrylate (MMA), and styrene (ST) onto natural rubber (NR) was carried out to enhance the polarity of the new chemical groups on the NR backbone and, in turn, to improve the filler-rubber interaction. The grafted natural rubber (GNR) produced was compounded and then vulcanization was carried out in the presence of silica as a reinforcing filler. The physical properties and aging resistance provided by the presence of the polar functional groups of the GNR composites were investigated and compared with other rubbers such as SBR, NBR, and NR. The GNRs provided significant improvements in resistance of the composites to thermal, oil, and ozone while maintaining the mechanical properties of the rubber. Therefore, these properties can be controlled as a function of the polarity of functional groups on the NR backbone. Morphological studies confirmed a shift from ductility failure to brittle with the presence of the polar group on the rubber chains.

Kinetics and modeling of methyl methacrylate graft copolymerization in the presence of natural rubber latex

A graft copolymerization model for using cumene hydroperoxide/tetraethylenepentamine (CHPO/TEPA) as a redox initiator was developed to describe the grafting of methyl methacrylate onto natural rubber latex as a core-shell particle. The model allows estimating the effects of the initiator concentration, monomer-rubber weight ratio, and temperature on the properties of graft product, e.g., % grafting efficiency and the % monomer composition in the graft copolymer and free polymer. The rate expressions of polymer chain formation are developed by taking into account a reduction of CHPO by TEPA and a population event of radicals between core/shell phases. The parameter estimation is performed to find the kinetic parameters. Validation with experimental results demonstrates a good applicability of the proposed model. The model results reveal that the formation of grafted polymer chains rather form by the chain transfer reaction to rubber chains from homopolymer radicals and the initiation reaction of cumyloxy radicals to rubber chains.