Preparation and properties of recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate) powder/halloysite nanotubes hybrid-filled natural rubber composites.

Recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate) (R-PET) was partially replaced with halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) as fillers in natural rubber (NR) composites. The composites were prepared by incorporating hybrid filler into NR using a laboratory size two-roll mill. The total amount of hybrid filler in each formulation was kept constant at 20 phr. Results revealed that scorch time, cure time, maximum torque, cross-link density and thermal stability increased with the replacement of R-PET by HNTs. Due to its reinforcing effect and ductility of the HNTs, the moduli, tensile strength, elongation at break and fatigue life were found to increase consecutively with increasing HNTs content. Morphological study of the tensile fracture surfaces of the composites exhibited that HNTs has better adhesion and is well-dispersed in NR matrix as compared to R-PET particles. However, R-PET exhibited positive effect by reducing the curing time of the hybrid NR composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]