A comparative study of different surfactants for natural rubber clay nanocomposite preparation

Nanocomposites on the basis of natural rubber and highly anisotropic nanoclay have gained significant attention due to their excellent thermal, barrier, and mechanical (tensile) properties. A nanocomposite based-natural rubber (NR) with fatty amides (FAs) (which was synthesized from vegetable oil)-modified clay was prepared using montmorillonite (MMT) as a natural clay. The product was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results were compared with those nanocomposites produced based on dodecyl ammonium chloride (DDA) as surfactant. It was observed that the NR-modified clay nanocomposites based on FAs show higher thermal stability and significant improvement of tensile properties in comparison with those of the NR-modified clay nanocomposites based on DDA as surfactant. The use of FAs for clay modification will reduce the dependence on petroleum-based surfactants. In addition to renewable resources, these nanocomposites are considered as environmentally friendly. © 2014 Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei.