Study on the cations-exchanged zeolite and its influence on mechanical, thermal, and morphological properties of rubber composites.

Enhancement of the physicomechanical properties of rubber can be achieved by the incorporation of reinforcing fillers, such as clay. Cation-exchanged zeolites (CEZes) were prepared by exchanging the native Na⁺ ions with single inorganic cations (magnesium (Mg), zinc (Zn), or strontium) and/or double cations (Zn-Mg), then they were processed as reinforcing fillers in the two type of synthetic rubber, acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) and styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR). Characterization of modified zeolite (Ze) was implemented using infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. The aim of this article is to study the influence of Ze and CEZe loadings on the rheometrical and physicomechanical properties of both NBR and SBR composites, also the thermogravimetric analysis was examined and the results were discussed. The results showed that the composites exhibited remarkable improvements in tensile strength, elongation at break, and hardness in the presence of CEZe and also an increase in thermal stability was reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]