TY - JOUR A1 - Battig, Alexander A1 - Abdou-Rahaman Fadul, Naïssa A1 - Frasca, Daniele A1 - Schulze, Dietmar A1 - Schartel, Bernhard T1 - Multifunctional graphene nanofiller in flame retarded polybutadiene/chloroprene/carbon black composites N2 - To curtail flammability risks and improve material properties, flame retardants (FRs) and fillers are mixed into rubbers. High loadings of aluminum trihydroxide (ATH) and carbon black (CB) are the most used FRs and reinforcing additive, respectively, in rubbers. To reduce loading without losing mechanical properties, partial substitution of ATH as well as CB by low amounts of multilayer graphene (MLG) nanoparticles is investigated. The high aspect ratio MLG is made of ten graphene sheets. In polybutadiene/chloroprene (BR/CR) nanocomposites 3 phr MLG replaced 15 phr CB and/or 3 phr ATH. Material and mechanical properties as well as fire behavior of the nanocomposites are compared to BR/CR with 20 phr CB both with and without 50 phr ATH. MLG appears as a promising nanofiller to improve the functional properties: replacement of CB improved rheological, curing, and mechanical properties; substitution of ATH improved nanocomposite properties without affecting flame retardancy. KW - Nanocomposites KW - Rubber KW - Multilayer graphene KW - Carbon black KW - Polybutadiene/chloroprene KW - Graphene PY - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-523468 SN - 1618-7229 VL - 21 IS - 1 SP - 244 EP - 262 PB - De Gruyter AN - OPUS4-52346 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Strommer, Bettina A1 - Schulze, Dietmar A1 - Schartel, Bernhard A1 - Böhning, Martin T1 - The quantification of anisotropy in graphene/natural rubber nanocomposites: Evaluation of the aspect ratio, concentration, and crosslinking N2 - In the processing of nanocomposites, high shear stresses at elevated tempera-tures orient two-dimensional nanoparticles like graphene. This orientationleads to anisotropic mechanical, thermal or barrier properties of the nanocom-posite. This anisotropy is addressed in this study by comparing graphene (few-layer graphene, FLG) with a nanoscaled carbon black (nCB) at a filler contentof 3 phr, by varying the vulcanization, and by comparing different FLG con-tents. Transmission electron microscopy gives insight into the qualitative ori-entation in the nanocomposite with FLG or nCB. The storage moduli paralleland normal to the orientation reveal the direction dependency of reinforce-ment through dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). Dimensional swellingmeasurements show a restriction of the expansion parallel to the FLG orienta-tion, and an increased expansion normal to the orientation. The vulcanizationsystem and crosslinking determine the respective level of property values, andhigher crosslinking densities increase the anisotropy in DMA resulting invalues of up to 2.9 for the quantified anisotropy factor. With increasing FLGcontent, the anisotropy increases. A comparison of the results reveals swellingmeasurements as the most suitable method for the determination of anisot-ropy. Compared to recent literature, the presented processing induces higheranisotropy, leading to higher reinforcing effects in the direction of orientation KW - Natural rubber KW - Graphene KW - Nanocomposite KW - Mechanical properties KW - Swelling PY - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-571522 SN - 1097-4628 VL - 140 IS - 16 SP - 1 EP - 15 PB - Wiley online library CY - Hoboken, New Jersey (USA) AN - OPUS4-57152 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Strommer, Bettina A1 - Schulze, Dietmar A1 - Schartel, Bernhard A1 - Böhning, Martin T1 - Networking Skills: The Effect of Graphene on the Crosslinking of Natural Rubber Nanocomposites with Sulfur and Peroxide Systems N2 - Tailored crosslinking in elastomers is crucial for their technical applications. The incorporation of nanoparticles with high surface-to-volume ratios not only leads to the formation of physical networks and influences the ultimate performance of nanocomposites, but it also affects the chemical crosslinking reactions. The influence of few-layer graphene (FLG) on the crosslinking behavior of natural rubber is investigated. Four different curing systems, two sulfur-based with different accelerator-to-sulfur ratios, and two peroxide-based with different peroxide concentrations, are combined with different FLG contents. Using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), vulcametry (MDR) and swelling measurements, the results show an accelerating effect of FLG on the kinetics of the sulfur-based curing systems, with an exothermic reaction peak in DSC shifted to lower temperatures and lower scorch and curing times in the MDR. While a higher accelerator-to-sulfur ratio in combination with FLG leads to reduced crosslinking densities, the peroxide crosslinkers are hardly affected by the presence of FLG. The good agreement of crosslink densities obtained from the swelling behavior confirms the suitability of vulcameter measurements for monitoring the complex vulcanization process of such nanocomposite systems in a simple and efficient way. The reinforcing effect of FLG shows the highest relative improvements in weakly crosslinked nanocomposites. KW - Nanocomposite KW - Elastomers KW - Graphene KW - Crosslinking KW - Network KW - Rubber KW - Vulcanization PY - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-560409 VL - 14 IS - 20 PB - MDPI AN - OPUS4-56040 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Strommer, Bettina A1 - Battig, Alexander A1 - Schulze, Dietmar A1 - Agudo Jacome, Leonardo A1 - Schartel, Bernhard A1 - Böhning, Martin T1 - Shape, orientation, interaction, or dispersion: valorization of the influence factors in natural rubber nanocomposites N2 - The addition of nanoparticles as reinforcing fillers in elastomers yields nanocomposites with unique property profiles, which opens the door for various new application fields. Major factors influencing the performance of nanocomposites are studied by varying the type and shape of nanoparticles and their dispersion in the natural rubber matrix. The industrial applicability of these nanocomposites is put into focus using two types of graphene and a nanoscale carbon black, all commercially available, and scalable processing techniques in the form of a highly filled masterbatch production via latex premixing by simple stirring or ultrasonically assisted dispersing with surfactant followed by conventional two-roll milling and hot pressing. Different processing and measurement methods reveal the potential for possible improvements: rheology, curing behavior, static and dynamic mechanical properties, swelling, and fire behavior. The aspect ratio of the nanoparticles and their interaction with the surrounding matrix prove to be crucial for the development of superior nanocomposites. An enhanced dispersing method enables the utilization of the improvement potential at low filler loadings (3 parts per hundred of rubber [phr]) and yields multifunctional rubber nanocomposites: two-dimensional layered particles (graphene) result in anisotropic material behavior with strong reinforcement in the in-plane direction (157% increase in the Young's modulus). The peak heat release rate in the cone calorimeter is reduced by 55% by incorporating 3 phr of few-layer graphene via an optimized dispersing process. KW - Graphene KW - Natural rubber KW - Nanocomposites KW - Anisotropy KW - Fire behavior PY - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5254/rct.23.77961 SN - 0035-9475 SN - 1943-4804 VL - 96 IS - 1 SP - 40 EP - 58 PB - Allen Press CY - Lawrence (KA), USA AN - OPUS4-57568 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zirnstein, Benjamin A1 - Tabaka, Weronika A1 - Frasca, Daniele A1 - Schulze, Dietmar A1 - Schartel, Bernhard T1 - Graphene / hydrogenated acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber nanocomposites: Dispersion, curing, mechanical reinforcement, multifunctional filler N2 - Elastomers are usually mechanically reinforced with high loadings of carbon black (CB) to achieve the properties demanded; high amounts of mineral flame retardants are used to fulfill fire safety requirements. In this study, multilayer graphene (MLG), a nanoparticle made of only 10 graphene sheets, is applied in low loadings, 3 parts per hundred rubber (phr) to reduce the total amount of filler or boost performance in hydrogenated acrylonitrilebutadiene rubber (HNBR). In the HNBR/MLG nanocomposites, 3 phr MLG replaced 15 phr CB, 3 phr aluminum trihydroxide (ATH), or 15 phr CB + 3 phr ATH. The nanocomposites were prepared via master batch by ultrasonically assisted solution mixing and subsequent conventional two-roll milling. A comprehensive study is presented, illustrating the impact of MLG on curing and mechanical properties; e.g. replacing 2.5 phr ATH with 3 phr MLG increased the Young's modulus by over 60% and hardness by 10%, while improving flame retardancy, and reducing the total heat evolved by 10%. MLG is a multifunctional filler, as demonstrated by various enhancements in terms of the mechanical and flame retardancy properties of the rubber composites. KW - Nanocomposite KW - Rubber KW - Graphene PY - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymertesting.2018.01.035 SN - 0142-9418 SN - 1873-2348 VL - 66 SP - 268 EP - 279 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-44457 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -