Preparation of graphene oxide-SiO₂/natural rubber composites by spray sputtering drying method

Natural latex(NRL), graphene oxide(GO) and SiO₂ suspension were fully mixed by mechanical stirring and the mixture was broken into small droplets by high pressure spraying firstly. Then the droplets sputtered and blasted after attaching high temperature metal surface, which led to further crushing to achieve ideal dispersion effect. The water in droplets was rapidly evaporated by flash drying and GO-SiO₂/natural rubber(NR) masterbatch was prepared. Under the effect of spraying, sputtering and blasting, GO and SiO₂ could achieve micro dispersion in NR matrix. The results show that GO and SiO₂ are uniformly dispersed in the NR matrix by spray sputtering drying method, compared with the properites of GO-SiO₂/NR composites prepared by common latex compounding method. Payne effect shows that the interaction between GO and SiO₂ is weakened by spray sputtering drying method. The tensile strength, tear strength and abrasion resistance of the GO-SiO₂/NR composites prepared by spray sputtering drying method increase by 13.6%, 31.5% and 16.7% respectively. The dynamic mechanical results show that the GO-SiO₂/NR composites prepared by spray sputtering drying method has lower loss factor at about 60℃.