Effect of organoclay on the gas barrier properties of natural rubber nanocomposites

Abstract Natural rubber nanocomposites have been prepared with organically modified montmorillonite clay. The nanocomposites have been characterized by X‐ray diffractometry and transmission electron microscopy. The gas‐barrier properties of the nanocomposites have been studied for three different gases viz., oxygen, nitrogen, and CO 2 gases. The natural rubber–organoclay composites exhibit outstanding gas‐barrier properties compared to the neat rubber. Various models have been applied to predict the decrease in permeability in nanocomposites. All other models except Bharadwaj model give low values of calculated aspect ratio. Dynamic mechanical analysis has been carried out to investigate the role of the constrained region on the permeability of the nanocomposites. The permeability decrease of the organoclay nanocomposites is found to have good qualitative correlation with the volume of the constrained region. POLYM. COMPOS.,, 2012. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers