Study on the Properties of Titanate Modified Basalt Fiber Reinforced Natural Rubber Composites

ABSTRACT The low surface activity of basalt fiber (BF) weakens the effective interfacial bonding with natural rubber (NR), necessitating surface modification to strengthen its compatibility with the NR matrix. In this paper, BF was first modified with bis(P,P‐bis(2‐ethylhexyl)diphosphato)ethanediolato titanium(IV) triethanolamine chelate solution (311W) and then incorporated into NR to prepare BF/NR composites. The effects of coupling agent concentration, rotor speed, treatment time, and treatment temperature on the composite properties were analyzed. The optimal processing parameters for the BF/NR composites were determined as: a titanate coupling agent concentration of 5%, a rotor speed of 20 r/s, a treatment time of 60 min, and a treatment temperature of 50°C. Under the optimal modification process conditions, the composite material showed significant improvement over the unmodified BF/NR composite: the 300% modulus increased by 42.37%, the tensile strength increased by 7.68%, the elongation at break increased by 19.02%, the DIN abrasion loss decreased by 4.17%, and the tear strength increased by 28.92%. Consequently, the optimized process parameters identified in this study present a viable strategy for improving the properties of BF/NR composites.