Thermal properties of graphite‐loaded nitrile rubber/poly(vinyl chloride) blends

Abstract

Abstract The thermal properties (thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and specific heat capacity) of nitrile rubber (NBR)/poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) blends were measured in the temperature range of 300–425 K. The incorporation of graphite into the NBR/PVC (30/70) matrix improved its thermal properties. Moreover, these properties slightly changed with the temperature. The thermal conductivity values of the prepared samples were compared with values modeled according to the Maxwell–Eucken, Cheng–Vachon, Lewis–Nielsen, geometric mean, and Agari–Uno models. The Agari–Uno model best predicted the effective thermal conductivity for the whole range of blend ratios and for the whole range of graphite contents in NBR/PVC (30/70)/graphite composites. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010