Fabrication and properties of sustainable material from epoxidized natural rubber/poly(vinyl alcohol)/graphene composites

Abstract

This work reported the production of epoxidized natural rubber (ENR)/poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/graphene (rGO) composite by latex mixing method. The particle size of rGO was about 740 nm and negative charge value (−29 mV). After the incorporation of the rGO into the 80/20 ENR/PVA blend, the color turns into black. The toluene resistance was also improved owing to its chemical interaction between the ENR/PVA blend and rGO. The swelling ratio of the ENR/PVA blend was 7/7 g/g while the swelling ratio of the ENR/PVA blend containing 1% w/w rGO was 3/3 g/g. The lowest moisture content and moisture absorption were found when using 1 g/g rGO. The maximum moisture and moisture absorption were found at ENR/PVA blend without rGO. After incorporation of rGO in the composite, the mechanical strength was enhanced jumping to the enforcement filler. The maximum tensile strength of ENR/PVA/1rGO was 17 MPa. The composite exhibits good thermal stability and the retention tensile strength of ENR/PVA/1rGO composite was about 80% at 24 h. After use, it easily decomposed in nature and the percentage of biodegradation was about 60%–75%.