Effect of Carbon Black and Silica Fillers in Elastomer Blends

Abstract

The effects of carbon black and pyrogeneous silica fillers on the interfacial properties of a homopolymer [polybutadiene, (PB)] and a terpolymer [brominated poly(isobutylene-co-p-methylstyrene), (BIMS)] are reported. Neutron reflectivity (NR) was used to study the interfacial structure. The results are complemented by scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) and lateral force microscopy (LFM), which were used to probe the morphology and surface lateral force. Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) was used to characterize the size and surface properties of the filler aggregates in elastomers. Our results show that the interfacial behavior of PB/BIMS is more sensitive to carbon black than to silica. The interfacial broadening is significantly slowed down with addition of merely φCB = 0.01 (volume fraction) carbon black fillers. This volume level is much lower than that used in bulk rubbers (φCB ≥ 0.1). Pyrogeneous silica has a less pronounced effect on the interfacial characteristics. When both carbon and silica are incorporated into the PB layer, the effect of carbon black is offset by silica fillers.

Synthesis and utilization of epoxidized polybutadiene rubber as an alternate compatibilizer in green-tire composites

“…Moreover, the impulsion and the advantages associated with 'green-tire' concept initiated the investigation and utilization of various types of novel fillers like nanosilica, nanoclay etc., to replace or to avoid the conventional carbon black [4,5]. However, as compared to the carbon black, the use of other fillers such as nanosilica in the rubber composites encounters few major challenges such as [6][7][8][9];…”

Characterization of the interface in rubber/silica composite materials

“…These observations indicate that the presence of functionalizing agents (TESPT) shields the direct interactions between silica and polymers. In fact, as shown recently 27,28 for other silicafilled polymers, TESPT on reacting with silica makes its surface more hydrophobic and approaches the copolymer chains with the sulphide group. Unfortunately, from the C 1s region analysis it is not possible to obtain information about S-C interactions, because the peak corresponding to this bond 20 overlaps with that corresponding to the C 3 sp component.…”

A SANS Study of 3PEG−LiClO4−TiO2 Nanocomposite Polymer Electrolytes

“…18,37 The crossover scattering vector Q* can be interpreted as the inverse of the length scale of the particles forming larger aggregates. 18,20 Here, typically Q* ) 0.015 Å -1 for the TiO 2 -filled samples, which corresponds to a length scale of 2π/0.015 Å ) 40 nm. This length scale is of the same order of magnitude as the particle diameter (21 nm).…”