Enhancing The Mechanical Properties of Montmorillonite-Filled Natural Rubber Through The Utilizing of Alkanolamide

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how alkanolamide may improve the reinforcing effectiveness of montmorillonite on natural rubber (NR) compounds by including it into the formulation. The alkanolamide was synthesized in the laboratory and then added to the montmorillonite-filled NR compounds at intervals of 1, 3, 5, and 7 phr, respectively. Researchers discovered that alkanolamide has modulus, hardness, and tensile strength improvements when compared to other compounds. The tensile modulus at 100 percent, as well as the hardness and tensile strength, were all improved, particularly up to a five percent alkanolamide concentration in the sample. As a result of using alkanolamide as a curative and plasticizing agent, it was discovered that the modulus and tensile enhancements were due to an increase in the reinforcing efficiency of montmorillonite on the NR. This was accomplished by increasing the degree of montmorillonite dispersion, the number of NR to montmorillonite interactions, and the cure state. According to the results of the crosslinks density test, it was determined that the montmorillonite-filled vulcanizate containing five percent alkanolamide had the highest crosslinks degree, resulting in the maximum hardness, tensile modulus, and tensile strength characteristics.