Preparation, fracture, and fatigue of exfoliated graphene oxide/natural rubber composites

Exfoliated graphene oxide (GO) reinforced natural rubber (NR) composites were prepared by a simple and promising latex co-coagulation method. Latex co-coagulation realized the complete exfoliation and uniform dispersion of GO in a NR matrix. The quasi-static fracture and dynamic fatigue behaviors of the composites were investigated. Mechanical properties and J-testing were used to characterize the fracture resistance, and fatigue tests were carried out under cyclic conditions of constant strain. Results revealed that with increasing GO sheet content, the mechanical properties, fracture initiation and propagation resistance were all highly improved. A much higher reinforcing efficiency of GO sheets than that of traditional fillers was realized. Fatigue crack growth resistance was remarkably enhanced with the incorporation of only 1 phr GO sheets. The relatively weak fatigue resistance of composites filled with 3 phr and 5 phr GO was attributed to their high hysteresis loss and tearing energy input. It revealed that GO sheets would be promising fillers in preparation of rubber composites with high fracture and fatigue resistance at low filler content.