Improvement of Silica Dispersion in Solution Polymerized Styrene–Butadiene Rubber via Introducing Amino Functional Groups

Abstract

Uniform silica dispersion is vital for achieving high-performance and low-rolling-resistance tires. Though silane coupling agents could improve the dispersion of silica, it would also lead to increasing processing complexity and volatile organic compounds. In the present work, amino-functionalized solution polymerized styrene–butadiene rubber (F-SSBR) were designed and synthesized aiming to form a hydrogen bond between the amino group and hydroxyl group in silica to improve the silica dispersion. In order to study the different effect of F-SSBR with in-chain or end-chain amino groups on silica dispersion, two 1,1-diphenylethylene (DPE) derivatives were introduced into the SSBR molecular chains via living anionic polymerization. Afterward, silica nanoparticles reinforced F-SSBR composites for tire tread were prepared. The effects of the functional groups of SSBR on the microstructure and performance of the composites were investigated. The results revealed that the incorporation of DPE derivatives into the SSBR molecular chain effectively decreased the size of silica aggregates and improved the dispersion of silica in the SSBR/silica composites. The thickness of tight bound rubber in F-SSBR/silica composite was larger than that of the original SSBR/silica composite. The F-SSBR composites had higher tensile strength, tear strength, and lower rolling resistance compared with the original SSBR composite. Especially, the F-SSBR with end-chain amino groups exhibited better comprehensive properties and had potential application in manufacturing high-performance tires.

Self‐Assembly Strategy for Double Network Elastomer Nanocomposites with Ultralow Energy Consumption and Ultrahigh Wear Resistance

“…Based on the present situation, it is a pressing challenge to develop highly energy-saving and wear-resistant automobile tires with ultra-low dynamic hysteresis loss. The traditional routes, such as fabricating new types of functionalized styrene butadiene rubber [10,11] and preventing the aggregation of nanoparticle additives in the elastomer matrix, [12][13][14] are difficult to realize. Although introducing nanoparticles remarkably enhances the This article is protected by copyright.…”

Synergistic Effect by Polyethylene Glycol as Interfacial Modifier in Silane-Modified Silica-Reinforced Composites

“…The results were supported by static glass transition temperature of the composites performed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) in supporting information (Figure S2) . Furthermore, in laboratorial analysis, DMA is widely utilized to predict tire tread performance with regard to wet traction and rolling resistance; tan δ at 0 °C is close to the temperature range, in which an increased value indicates an improvement of wet skid resistance of a tire, while the tan δ in the temperature range >40 °C, in particular tan δ at 60 °C, of vulcanizates indicates the loss of energy under dynamic deformation, in which the reduced tan δ is a clear indication for the reduction of the rolling resistance of a tire tread [ 39 , 40 ]. It is known that the rubber compound with high resilience has higher friction on ice in the temperature range of −20 °C, and, for this reason, excellent snow grip properties of vulcanizates can be predicted by lower values of tan δ at −20 °C [ 41 , 42 ].…”

Improved tire tread compounds using functionalized styrene butadiene rubber‐silica filler/hybrid filler systems

“…The dispersion of the grafted silica was better than normal silica due to strong interfacial interaction between grafted silica and SSBR. Sun et al 20 synthesized aminofunctional SSBR (f-SSBR) for improved silica-polymer reinforcement. This effectively reduced the size of silica aggregates with improved dispersion, higher bound rubber, tensile strength, tear strength, low RRc compound.…”