Cure, Mechanical, Swelling, Antimicrobial and Biodegradability Studies of Biocomposites of Acrylonitrile Butadiene Rubber and Chitosan

Bio composites of acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) reinforced with chitosan were prepared using dicumyl peroxide (DCP) as a curing agent. Composites with two types of chitosan with different degrees of deacetylation (DD) were studied i.e., Chitosan with 85% DD and 75% DD. The cure characteristics of composites were studied. The mechanical properties of NBR were found to be improved by the incorporation of chitosan. The composite containing 20 phr chitosan has the best balance of mechanical properties. The swelling behavior of the composites in non-polar solvents such as petrol, diesel, kerosene, toluene, and hexane were analyzed for the swelling coefficient values which supports the results of mechanical properties. Antimicrobial properties of the composites were studied by inoculating the composites with Aspergillus niger (A. niger) fungus on a potato dextrose agar media and incubated for 60 days at room temperature. It is found that presence of chitosan resist the microbial action on the composite samples compared to the gum sample. It is believed that the outcome obtained from the present study is to develop environment-friendly composites for various applications such as oil seals, hoses, automobile bushes, etc.