LAUSR

Acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR)/cobalt chloride (CoCl2) composites filled with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were successfully prepared and investigated. The incorporation of CNTs markedly improved tensile strength and notably changed electrical properties of NBR/CoCl2/CNTs composites. The addition of CNTs brought by up to 39% and 101% improvements in tensile strength and hardness, respectively. Furthermore, the elongation at break maintained at high levels over 1000%. The volume resistivity decreased significantly with increasing CNTs content; rather, the dielectric constant and dielectric loss increased. A low electrical percolation threshold of about 1.5 pph CNTs was observed in NBR/CoCl2/CNTs composites. These results reflected the formation of three-dimensional conductive networks in composites. SEM results demonstrated that CNTs were dispersed uniformly and had strong filler-matrix interaction with NBR matrix, which could be correlated with property improvements. Moreover, thermogravimetric analysis and dynamic mechanical analysis were also utilized to study the effect of CNTs on composite properties.