Properties of carbon nanotubes reinforced natural rubber/trans-1,4-polyisoprene shape memory composites

Abstract

Natural rubber （NR）/trans-1,4-polyisoprene （TPI） composites with shape memory effect were prepared, and the effect of carbon nanotubes （CNTs） amount on the properties of the composites was studied. The results showed that with the increase of CNTS, the scorch time and curing time of the composites were shortened, and the curing rate and crosslinking density were slightly increased, and the tensile strength, modulus and hardness all showed an obvious upward trend, while the elongation at break did not change significantly, indicating that CNTs played a reinforcing role. However, the shape fixation rate decreased from 91.83% to 86.64%, and the shape recovery rate dropped from 95.43% to 90.76% in the shape memory properties. When the amount of CNTs was 6 phr（mass） and the DC voltage was above 80 V, the composites exhibited good electrical stimulation shape memory behavior.

Keywords

• natural rubber
• trans-1
• 4-polyisoprene
• composite
• carbon nanotube
• reinforcement
• shape memory
• curing characteristics
• mechanical property