Study on Thermo-oxidative Resistance of Reactive Halloysite Nanotube Modified HNBR/FKM Composites

Abstract Rubber composites are vulnerable to thermo-oxidative aging, which leads to early failure of rubber products. Therefore, the addition of antioxidants is essential to extend their service life. Herein, designed reactive halloysite nanotubes (RHNTs) by loading C3H5COO− and Zn2+ into halloysite nanotubes (HNTs), where the in-situ reaction of zinc methacrylate (ZDMA) in the lumen of HNTs occurred. The novel aging-resistant HNBR/FKM composites were prepared by modification via RHNTs as an antioxidant filler in hydrogenated nitrile rubber/fluoroelastomer (HNBR/FKM) blended rubber, which study provides an insight into the effects of RHNTs on the mechanical properties and aging resistance of HNBR/FKM composites. The experimental results show that the characteristic absorption peaks of ZDMA appeared in the infrared spectrum of RHNTs compared to the blank HNTs. The mechanical properties data showed that the tensile strength of all HNBR/FKM composites was improved to some extent. However, in thermo-oxidative medium at 150℃, an interesting aging phenomenon occurred, the blank composite, HNTs composite and HNTs-1 composite all exhibited extreme values of tensile strength from aging reinforcement within the first 72h period, and the possible anti-thermal oxygen aging mechanism was put forward. A new solution was provided for the design and preparation of anti-aging composites.