The Influence of Bleached Jute Fiber Filler on the Properties of Vulcanized Natural Rubber

There is growing interest in replacing the synthetic reinforcements used for natural rubber (NR) composites with natural fibers from renewable, environmentally sustainable sources. Jute fibers may be suitable reinforcements for NR because they have a high tensile strength, which is comparable to other fillers such as glass fibers. Thus, we studied the incorporation of bleached jute fibers into NR, characterizing the mechanical, dynamic mechanical, and morphological properties of the composites. The addition of fibers to the NR latex was achieved by chemical coagulation, followed by vulcanization in a laboratory two-roll mixing mill. The elastic modulus at 100 and 300% elongation of the NR doubled after the addition of 10 phr of fibers without significant loss in the tensile strength or the elongation at break. The hardness was increased by 47%, and the storage modulus also increased, indicating the excellent interactions between the surfaces of the fibers and the NR matrix.

当前，学界与产业界对采用可再生、环境友好型天然纤维替代天然橡胶（natural rubber, NR）复合材料所用合成增强材料的研究兴趣与日俱增。黄麻纤维或可作为NR的理想增强材料，因其具备较高的拉伸强度，可与玻璃纤维等常用填料相媲美。据此，本研究将漂白黄麻纤维掺入NR基体中，并对该复合材料的力学性能、动态力学性能与微观形貌进行了系统表征。实验过程中，通过化学凝聚法将纤维添加至NR胶乳内，随后在实验室双辊混炼机中完成硫化工艺。当掺入10 phr（每百份橡胶的份数，parts per hundred rubber, phr）的黄麻纤维后，NR在100%与300%伸长率下的弹性模量提升一倍，且拉伸强度与断裂伸长率无显著损失。此外，复合材料的硬度提升了47%，储能模量亦显著升高，这表明黄麻纤维表面与NR基体之间存在优异的界面相互作用。