Barrier properties of hydrogenated acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber composites containing modified layered aluminosilicates

The resistance to permeation by the selected solvents of flat membranes made of cured hydrogenated acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (HNBR) materials without any fillers and containing 5 phr of layered aluminosilicate nanofiller (bentonite), modified with various types of ammonium salts or N330 type carbon black, was investigated. The barrier properties were assessed on the basis of the breakthrough time of a liquid with low (cyclohexane) or average (butyl acetate) thermodynamic affinity to HNBR, determined according to EN 6529:2001, through a cured elastomer sample.

The addition of bentonite, irrespectively of the method of modification of its particles, was found to increase the cured HNBR breakthrough time by 20 – 35 % in the case of slowly permeating non-polar cyclohexane, and by 50 – 130 % in the case of polar butyl acetate permeating more rapidly, in comparison with the barrier material containing no filler. The layered aluminosilicate nanofillers increased the breakthrough time of the material sample for both the tested solvents. In particular, the breakthrough time for polar butyl acetate was even longer than for conventional carbon black. Additionally, the increase of the breakthrough time was observed to depend on the modifier of bentonite particle surface.