The present study is proposing an eco-friendly, green tyre tread formulation possessing excellent output properties in terms of abrasion resistance, mechanical, rolling resistance and heat buildup properties. A standard formulation was prepared with a nominal amount of carbon black (CB) filler and tried to reduce the filler loading to a minimum value without compromising the performance characteristics. The simultaneous reduction in aromatic oil content also tried to make the formulation eco-friendly. To compensate for the effect of changes in the formulation a binary hybrid filler system was prepared by the partial replacement of CB using graphite. To ensure the maximum dispersion, a filler masterbatch of graphite was prepared within natural rubber matrix (NR) as (50/50) composition and incorporated into the compound master batch. The effect of thermal exfoliation of graphite on the dispersion thereby the performance of the composite was also analyzed. The graphite was thermally treated for a sudden thermal shock for 15 minutes at various temperatures ranging from 400–550 ˚C. Rolling resistance and heat build-up were recorded 45% and 53% reduction respectively for the formulations with thermally exfoliated graphite in comparison with the standard formulation. Abrasion resistance showed 18% improvement and significant improvement in mechanical and thermal properties are also reported.

Ecofriendly green tyre tread compounds were developed with low rolling resistance, low heat buildup, and improved wet grip properties. A standard formulation of natural rubber (NR) and butadiene (BR) with 50 phr carbon black was prepared in a brabender plasticoder. Based on the processability, successful reduction of carbon black and aromatic oil content was done up to a minimum value of 32 and 3 phr respectively. Partial replacement of graphite with carbon black was done to achieve the optimized formulation. A binary filler system with 10 phr graphite and 22 phr carbon black was optimized based on the mechanical properties and further addition of graphite leads to reduction in properties due to agglomeration. To enhance the properties further, the graphite was thermally treated to get an exfoliated structure which can significantly improve the area of the filler/matrix macromolecules interface. This ultimately had a positive impact on targeted properties. A sudden thermal shock for 15 min at various temperatures ranging from 400 to 550 C was given and prepared the optimized binary formulation and evaluated the properties. Excellent results in terms of low rolling resistance (0.039) and heat build-up (18 C) were recorded for final formulation. The flex fatigue resistance was enhanced and the thermal stability improved by 29 C.