Preparation, characterization, dielectric properties and solvent-imbibing behavior of styrene–butadiene rubber/zinc sulfide nanocomposites

This work focuses on the preparation of styrene–butadiene rubber (SBR)/zinc sulfide (ZnS) nanocomposites using a simple and inexpensive two-roll mill mixing technique. The structural, morphological and thermal properties of the nanocomposites were analyzed by FT-IR, UV–visible spectroscopy, XRD, SEM and DSC measurements. The results of the spectroscopic studies revealed the interaction of ZnS nanoparticles with SBR through the shift in the peaks of UV and FT-IR spectra. The XRD and SEM studies showed that the nanoparticles were well inserted into the macromolecular structure of SBR. The glass transition temperature of the composites increased with the addition of nanoparticles. The dielectric constant of nanocomposite with different loading of nanoparticles was carried out in the frequency range 100–10⁶ Hz. The dielectric properties of nanocomposites were higher than that of pure SBR. In addition, the diffusion and transport properties of organic solvents through SBR/ZnS nanocomposites were studied in detail as a function of ZnS content. The polymer–solvent interaction parameter, enthalpy and entropy of sorption data were estimated from the transport properties. The high dielectric constant of these nanocomposites infers that ZnS is one of the ideal nanofiller for the development of high-k materials for flexible energy storage applications.