Preparation of a natural rubber with high thermal conductivity, low heat generation and strong interfacial interaction by using NS-modified graphene oxide

Owing to its remarkable electrical, mechanical and thermal properties, graphene has been considered the most promising reinforcing filler for the development of rubber nanocomposites. In this work, a novel interfacial structure consisting of reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/N-tert-butyl-2-benzothiazole sulfonamide (NS)/natural rubber (NR) (NR/NS-rGO) with covalent bond connections was fabricated using one-step modification and coprecipitation methods. When the filler loading of NS-rGO is 0.42 vol.%, not only the thermal conductivity of the rubber composite increases to 0.237 Wm(-1) K-1, which is 21.5% higher than that of pure NR; meanwhile, the internal heat generation decreases to 2.6 degrees C, which is 45.8% lower than that of reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/ascorbic acid (VC)/natural rubber (NR) (NR/VC-rGO), and the mechanical properties have been greatly improved. The results demonstrated that the covalent bond connections greatly reduced interfacial thermal resistance at the filler/matrix interface. Furthermore, the enhanced interfacial interaction reduced frictional heat generation at the filler/matrix interface. More importantly, this strategy provided creative insights into the high application potential of graphene in the rubber industry.

Automated summary

A novel interfacial structure NR/NS-rGO with covalent bond connections was successfully fabricated, showing significant improvements in thermal conductivity, internal heat generation, and mechanical properties in rubber nanocomposites. The results demonstrate the high application potential of graphene in the rubber industry.