Comparative study of LIBS and mechanically evaluated hardness of graphite/ rubber composites

Graphite is a crystalline form of carbon which has attracted the academic and industrial interest. It has been used as reinforcing filler that can produce highly effective improvement for rubber. This article presents and discusses the development of graphite-based rubber composites and their applications in industries which have been used extensively as reinforcing fillers. Increasing reinforcement of the rubber material leads to an increase in stiffness, modulus, tear strength, cracking resistance, tensile strength, abrasion resistance, and fatigue resistance. Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) technique has been utilized for determination of hardness and analysis of rubber polymers doped with Graphite filler. Different samples of natural rubber with different graphite filler concentration have been measured. A linear relationship between sample hardness and filler concentration is shown by the conventional hardness measurement techniques and has been demonstrated by LIBS technique too. Other laser-induced plasma parameters such as the electronic density and temperature as a function of time are determined. The same selectivity and ability to excite emission were revealed through measurements using LIBS, and thus the qualitative analysis capability of other techniques was confirmed. •Graphite has been used as reinforcing filler to improve the rubber.•Hardness of composites was measured by the Shore Hardness Tester & LIBS technique.•Plasma temperature is directly proportioned to the shore mechanical hardness.