Research on foamed nitrile rubber (NBR)/cellulose nanocrystals (CNs) nanocomposites is rarely found in
the literatures. In this paper, CNs suspension and NBR latex was mixed to prepared the foamed NBR/CNs
nanocomposites.We found thattheCNsmainly located inthe cell walls, effectively reinforcing the foamed
NBR. The strong interaction between the CNs and NBR matrix restricted the mobility of NBR chains
surrounding the CNs, hence increasing the crosslink density of the NBR matrix. CNs exhibited excellent
reinforcement on the foamed NBR: a remarkable increase nearly 76% in the tensile strength ofthe foamed
nanocomposites was achieved with a load of only 15 phr CNs. Enhanced mechanical properties make
the foamed NBR/CNs nanocomposites a promising damping material for industrial applications with a
potential to reduce the petroleum consumption.