Leather-Like Material Based on Natural Rubber Composites

In-house leather like material based on filled natural rubber (NR) with various filler types (i.e., clay, SiO2 and CaCO^) was prepared by calendaring method. NR/SiO2 exhibited the highest tensile strength, 100% modulus, elongation at break, and tear strength. The lower wear index and % weight loss in case of NR/SiO2 indicated the best abrasion resistance among the other fillers due to the fine dispersion of SiO2 in the NR matrix. Also, the uniform dispersion of SiO2 together with high surface area of SiO2 enhanced the interaction with NR matrix led to the higher elasticity of NR/SiO2 vulcanisate. Therefore, NR/SiO2-based leather was prepared and exhibited no significant difference in the abrasion resistance compared to the commercial leather. Furthermore, it was observed that NR/SiO2-based leather exhibited higher skid resistance than the commercial one. Therefore, NR/SiO2-based leather has been proposed to use as commercial artificial leather.