Graphene nanoplatelets as a substitute for carbon black in rubber compounds: evaluation of the reinforcement characteristics of the two nanofillers within a nitrile butadiene rubber matrix

Most application-oriented rubber compounds use carbon black (CB) as a reinforcing filler. However, since the discovery of graphene, the use of graphene-related materials such as graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) for the production of composites has attracted the attention of both industry and academia. In this work, we evaluated the reinforcement characteristics of both CB and GNPs within a nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) matrix. The use of GNPs has proven to be beneficial in terms of processing and the ultimate physicochemical properties, compared to CB. The tensile and tear properties of NBR after compounding with GNPs were enhanced to a larger extent compared to carbon black, while the curing times were smaller and the scorch times longer, indicating the advantages of GNPs during processing. Overall, the inherent properties of GNPs along with their geometrical characteristics lead to the production of high-performing, multifunctional rubber compounds that can replace their CB-filled counterparts and that can eventually be used in advanced applications.

众多应用导向型橡胶复合材料均采用炭黑（CB）作为增强填料。然而，自石墨烯被发现以来，石墨烯相关材料，如石墨烯纳米片（GNPs），在复合材料生产中的应用引起了业界和学界的广泛关注。在本研究中，我们对CB和GNPs在丁腈橡胶（NBR）基体中的增强特性进行了评估。相较于CB，GNPs的应用在加工性能和最终物理化学性质方面均显示出显著优势。与炭黑相比，经GNPs复合的NBR的拉伸和撕裂性能得到了显著提升，而固化时间缩短，烧蚀时间延长，这表明GNPs在加工过程中的优势。总体而言，GNPs的固有特性及其几何特性共同促成了高性能、多功能橡胶复合材料的产生，这些材料能够替代传统的炭黑填充材料，并最终应用于高级应用领域。