Abstract
Silica dispersion enhancement in natural rubber (NR) composites utilising stearyl alcohol (SA), a type of fatty alcohol, was carried out. The effects of SA-fatty alcohol on curing, swelling behaviour and silica dispersion degree of NR composites were studied. The commercial grade of SA-fatty alcohol was utilised and added into NR composite which was filled by filler (silica) at 30.0 phr. The SA-fatty alcohol is a derivative material from palm kernel oil and it was mixed into the composites of NR as an additive of rubber. The SA-fatty alcohol concentrations were from one to four phr. From the results, the SA-fatty alcohol functioned not only as a curative but also as a plasticizing agent. As a curative agent, SA-fatty alcohol decreased the cure time but increased scorch time of the composites of NR. The higher the loading of SA-fatty alcohol, the shorter the cure time and the longer the scorch time was. As a plasticizing agent, SA-fatty alcohol reduced minimum torque and increased degree of silica dispersion in NR. The 2.0 phr was the optimum concentration of SA-fatty alcohol.
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