From the rheograph, the maximum torque value was found to increase for both NR and NBR compounds containing ZnO nanoparticles.
ZnO nanoparticles were found to be more uniformly dispersed in the rubber matrix in comparison with the conventional rubber grade ZnO as evident from scanning electron microscopy/X-ray dot mapping analysis. The tensile strength was observed to improve by 80% for NR when ZnO nanoparticles were used as cure activator instead of conventional rubber grade ZnO