Vulcanization Kinetics of Nanosilica Filled Styrene Butadiene Rubber

Performance of filled rubbers is strongly affected by properties of fillers, filler–filler and rubber–filler interactions. Silica provides several advantages over carbon blacks;especially, lower rolling resistances at equal wear resistance and wet grip [1]. In polymer nanocomposites, interactions between filler andpolymer play a crucial role in macroscopic properties [2]. Silica is generally classified as filler with high polarity,due to the large number of silanol groups on the surface. Thus, in themixing operation of silica with rubber, we encounter major problems because of the huge hydrogen bond interactionsamong surface silanol groups. It is also reported that the acidic nature of silanol groups, due to the adsorption of basic accelerators on the surface of silica, decreases cure rate [3]. In this work we have studied the role of filler-filler and rubber-filler interactions on the vulcanization process of silicafilled SBR. In particular, we have studied the effect of filler content on the rate of vulcanization reaction.