The atmospheric-pressure air plasma treated natural rubber (NR) using diffuse coplanar surface barrier discharge configuration (DCSBD) was blended into an elastomeric composite system. It was observed that the plasma process altered the surface modifications by introducing specific moieties onto the NR surface and significantly affected the micro-morphology of NR composite. Based on the used exposure times and DCSBD power, the NR was exposed to the increasing temperature and electric micro-discharges during the plasma processes. It was found that the plasma treatment of NR affected curing processes minimally, although some changes have been provided after the curing stage. As a vulcanizer, the tensile strength and elongation at break decreased with proposed exposure time, but hardness persisted similarly. Moreover, the plasma treatment of NR modified the wettability and surface free energy of uncured composite and vulcanizer. In the presented study, the surface modifications of NR induced by atmospheric-pressure air plasma were discussed and the post-curing effects are monitored and thoroughly described.

Acknowledgement: This work was supported by the Science Grant Agency - project VEGA 1/0265/24 and by the Operational Program Integrated Infrastructure, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund by the project: Advancement and support of R&D for "Centre for diagnostics and quality testing of materials" in the domains of the RIS3 SK specialization, Acronym: CEDITEK II., ITMS2014+ code 313011W442.