Spray drying preparation of polymethyl methacrylate-grafted natural rubber composite powders and its impact reinforcement effect

Nutkamon Sangthongyingdee, Darren Yi Sern Low, Abdul Hasif bin Abd Rahim, Intira Boonvisood, Siah Ying Tang, Apinan Soottitantawat

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Encapsulation represents one feasible approach of preparing powdered natural rubber. Herein, we demonstrated the preparation of polymethyl methacrylate-grafted natural rubber (PMMA-g-NR) powders through emulsion polymerization followed by spray drying and investigated its impact reinforcement effect after blending with polylactic acid (PLA). The effects of feeding order, initiator concentration (CHPO/TEPA), monomer concentration (MMA) and reaction time on the grafting efficiency and yield were investigated. 1H-NMR and FTIR analyses confirmed the formation of PMMA-g-NR powder with high grafting efficiency (∼85%). TEM observations revealed the core-shell structure of the composite powder particles. DSC and TGA analyses proved that the PMMA-g-NR powder possessed improved thermal properties compared to neat NR. Impact strength of PLA/PMMA-g-NR blends were improved by 4.5-fold by the spray-dried composite powder prepared using 25 phr MMA and 1 phr CHPO/TEPA with 5 hours reaction time. The enhanced mechanical properties were attributed to the microstructures and high surface areas of PMMA-g-NR powder.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2770-2782
Number of pages13
JournalDrying Technology
Volume40
Issue number13
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

Keywords

  • impact reinforcement
  • natural rubber composite powder
  • PMMA
  • polylactic acid
  • Spray drying

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