3.2. Morphology of NR nanocomposites
The morphology of the nanocomposites, and the degree of dispersion of nano-fillers in the natural rubber matrix were studied by SEM and are shown in Figs. 4 and 5. Considering the morphology of the fillers alone, Fig. 4a shows an SEM micrograph of the SiC nanoparticles which appear to agglomerate in spherical geometry whilst the SWNTs (Fig. 6a) do not show agglomeration to the same degree. The micrographs represented by Figs. 4b and 5b reveal that both SiC nanoparticles and SWNTs seem to be dispersed without much agglomeration in the rubber matrix. No noticeable agglomeration was observed in any of the SEM micrographs. The white dots in Fig. 4b are vulcanizing agents. The lack of any evidence of agglomeration combined with the significant increase in mechanical properties indicates good distribution of fillers in NR, particularly for SiC/NR nanocomposites, which may be due to the spherical shape of the SiC nanoparticles with the average particle size as small as 29 nm.