Influence of the swelling temperature and acrylonitrile content of NBR on the water swelling behaviors of silica-filled NBR vulcanizates

Influence of the acrylonitrile content of NBR on the water swelling behaviors of silica-filled NBR composites at room temperature and 90 °C was studied. Variation of the water swelling behaviors with the silica content was also investigated. The water swelling ratios at 90 °C were on the whole higher than those at room temperature. The water swelling ratios of the specimen with higher silica content were larger than those with lower one except for the water swelling at 90 °C for long time. When factors influencing the water swelling such as the crosslink density and silica content were corrected, the water swelling ratio of the silica-filled NBR vulcanizate increased as the acrylonitrile content increased.