Abstract
The variation of specific heat (Cp) of natural rubber (NR) is studied by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). The NR samples are filled with different fillers (nanoclay, TiO2, and nanosilica) at different concentrations. The DSC measurements are done in N2 atmosphere with constant pressure of 0.3 bar to prevent any oxidation of the samples. The temperature has been varied up to 210°C from -40°C at a constant heating rate of 10°C min throughout the experiment and Proteus analysis software is used to study the variation of specific heat (Cp) as function of both temperature and filler concentrations. The investigation shows that the Cp values increase with the increase of filler concentrations. Due to nanometer range diameter, these fillers fill up some of the free volume holes of NR sample. The fillers also make cross-link with NR chains causing an increase the molecular weight of NR as well as the Cp values. Thus the fillers act as active fillers for NR sample.