Preparation and Characterization of Natural Rubber Reinforced with Carbon Nanotubes
Incompatibility between natural rubber (NR) and polypropylene (PP) can be overcome by the introduction of a compatibilizer that can induce interactions during blending. Compatibility is important as it may affect the morphology, mechanical and thermal properties of the blends. Among the commonly used compatibilizers is a liquid natural rubber (LNR). Apart from compatibility, mixing torque and curing are interrelated in determining the homogeneity of the TPNR blend. The LNR has the same microstructure with NR but with a short chain of polyisoprene (different in molecular weight, M