Characterization of XNBR-clay Nanocomposite; a New Material for Protective Gloves

Dermal exposure to chemical agents can result in a variety of occupational diseases and disorders, including occupational skin diseases and systemic toxicity. T he present paper focused on transport properties of nanocomposite based on carboxylated nitrile butadiene rubber (XNBR)-nanoclay. In this study, XNBR gloves nanocomposite were prepared at different amounts of nanoclay; i.e. 3, 6, 9 phr (parts per hundred of rubber). Swelling procedure was conducted for different nanocomposites using two neat organic solvents (i.e. Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) and Ethyl acetate). Near Fickian diffusion was observed for XNBR based nanocomposites containing different amounts of nanoclay. The permeability coefficients were higher for ethyl acetate compared to CCl4 in all XNBR nanocomposites. In addition, a significant decrease was observed in the permeability coefficients of the selected solvent XNBR3. Analysis of transport properties of synthesized nanocomposites illustrated that application of these materials seems promising for manufacturing protective gloves.