Effect of Modified Natural Rubber on Properties of Thermoplastic Natural Rubber Based on Co-Polyamide Blends

Abstract

Thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) based on natural rubber (NR)/co-polyamine (COPA) blends with different types of NR (i.e., unmodified NR, MNR, ENR-30 and ENR-50) were prepared using simple blend technique. Mechanical, elastic, oil resistant and morphological properties were investigated. The main objective was to prepare TPEs based on NR with good set property and oil resistance. It was found that the blends with modified NRs exhibited higher moduli, tensile strength, oil resistance and elastic properties than the blend with NR. This is due to higher interaction between functional groups of modified NRs (i.e., ENR and MNR) and COPA. Furthermore, the blends using modified NRs showed finer grain morphology than the blend with NR. This may be caused by higher interfacial adhesion between rubber phase and COPA matrix.