Effect of N-Cyclohexyl-2-benzothiazole sulfenamide-grafted halloysite nanotubes on the performance of NBR/SBR composites
摘要
Halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) were chemically functionalized with the vulcanization accelerator N-cyclohexyl-2-benzothiazole sulfenamide (CZ) to prepare CZ-grafted HNTs (HNTs-s-CZ), which were incorporated into acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR)/styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) blends. The chemical grafting of the accelerator at the filler–rubber interface promoted stronger filler–matrix interaction and facilitated the formation of a compact interfacial polymer network. Compared with unmodified HNTs and physically mixed CZ systems, the HNTs-s-CZ filled composites exhibited superior curing and mechanical performance. Notably, tensile strength was enhanced by 147% with HNTs and further increased to 186% with HNTs-s-CZ. While elongation at break and rebound resilience decreased with increasing nanotube content, properties such as tear strength, hardness, and abrasion resistance improved correspondingly. Overall, HNTs-s-CZ reinforced composites demonstrated significantly better performance than those containing pristine HNTs, confirming the effectiveness of the chemical grafting strategy.