Study of the mechanical, dynamic mechanical and dielectric properties of natural rubber/barium titanate composites

Abstract

The focus of the paper is to investigate the effect of barium titanate (BaTiO3) particles on the mechanical, dynamic mechanical, and dielectric properties of natural rubber (NR) composites. The natural rubber/barium titanate composites with different volume fractions of barium titanate were prepared via the two-roll mill process. A silane coupling agent was used to modify the surface of the barium titanate particles. The curing characteristics of the composites were determined and the composites were vulcanized at 150 °C using a hot press. The mechanical properties, dynamic mechanical properties, and dielectric properties of the composites were studied. The mechanical properties indicated that the incorporation of barium titanate caused the tensile strength and hardness of natural rubber to be improved. Dynamic mechanical analysis results show that the incorporation of barium titanate particles into the natural rubber matrix resulted in a decrease of the height of the loss tangent (tan) peak and the Tg values shifted slightly to a higher temperature with the addition of barium titanate particles. The dielectric properties of the natural rubber/barium titanate composites were enhanced with increased barium titanate loading. Moreover, the morphology of the composites was also studied using scanning electron microscopy. A microstructure analysis was performed to verify and better assess the performance properties of the natural rubber/barium titanate composites.