Double network elastomers were prepared by curing under strain previously-crosslinked natural rubber or styrene-butadiene copolymer. The rubbers were reinforced with carbon black, so that the conventional (singly-cured) materials exhibited a substantial Payne effect, reflecting agglomeration of the filler particles. This effect was much reduced in the double networks - the storage modulus varied more weakly with strain amplitude, and the mechanical hysteresis was substantially smaller. Comparable results were obtained for dynamic mechanical measurements employing different test geometries; that is, the effect is independent of the direction of the strain relative to the orientation of the double network. These results indicate that deformation during the imposition of a second network disrupts the carbon black agglomerates, and this deflocculated structure is stabilized by the second crosslinking. Thus, double network processing is a general means to lower the hysteresis of filled rubbers.

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