Tensile properties and swell behaviours of natural rubber modified by starch for biodegradable rubber product

Mahadi, Nur Athirah (2017) Tensile properties and swell behaviours of natural rubber modified by starch for biodegradable rubber product. Project Report. Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Melaka, Malaysia. (Submitted)

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Abstract

Rubber vulcanizates is common material that widely used for rubber-based product. Nowadays, the need of biodegradable rubber products have increased. This research aimed to investigate the tensile properties and swell behaviours of natural rubber modified by starch for biodegradable rubber product. The natural rubber filled with starch were compounded through melt compounding process in order to assess cure characteristics of natural rubber vulcanizates which contain variations of starch loading. The physical and mechanical properties in terms of tensile properties and swelling behaviour was determined by using tensile test and swelling test for different loading of starch that was incorporated into the rubber matrix. The swelling test was performed by immersion of the natural rubber vulcanizates modified by starch samples in two types of solvent comprises of polar group solvent (distilled water and sodium chloride) and non-polar group solvent (toluene and n-heptane) for 28 days. The samples then be analysed by using morphological analysis which were optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) while the characterization of raw natural rubber and starch powder was done by X-ray diffraction method (XRD) analysis. It was observed that, the higher the starch loading in natural rubber vulcanizates, can reduce the scorch time and hence achieving higher processing ability. In addition, as the starch content increase in the vulcanizates, only 11 % decrement was observed in tensile strength at 20 phr of starch loading. The decrement in tensile strength was mainly due to the lower crystallinity exhibit by the vulcanizates samples. From swelling test, rubber vulcanizates filled starch which was immersed in non-polar group of solvent consist of toluene and n-heptane shows higher percentage of swelling which is 183.33% as compared to polar group such as sodium chloride with only 6.71 % after 28 days of immersion period at 60 phr starch loading. This observation was expected due to hydrophilicity of starch and hydrophobicity of natural rubber characteristics in nature. The results are significant which proved that starch modified natural rubber has potential to be used as replacement material for existing rubber product.

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