(1) Shizuoka University - Tokyo - Japan, (2) Prince of Songkla University - Hat Yai - Thailand, (3) Tokyo University of Science & Agriculture - Tokyo - Japan
Natural rubber (NR)/polypropylene(PP)(80/20%wt) blends filled with nano-clay were prepared by melt-mixing in an internal mixer. The NR/PP blends without clay were also prepared for comparison. The clay was locally existed at the interface between NR and PP and acted as an interface enhancer by modifying the dispersed PP phase morphology to fibrillar PP structure. After static vulcanization, significant improvement in tensile properties was obtained due to the reinforcement of fibrillar PP phase in the NR matrix.