Effect of Type and Load of Silica on Dynamic Properties of Solution Styrene-Butadiene Rubber / Butadiene Rubber

Effect of silica on dynamic properties of styrene-butadiene/butadiene rubber (SSBR/BR) solution blends was characterized by a Rubber Processing Analyzer (RPA2000). It was found that the type and loading of silica strongly influenced the dynamic mechanical properties in both uncured and cured SSBR/BR. There was a synergistic effect between vulcanization and reinforcement in which the crosslinking of the rubber chains in the vulcanizates amplified the reinforcement by silica by restricting the breaking of the silica network formed between silica particles through the rubber bridges and helping the reformation of a broken silica network. The higher the Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller (BET) specific surface area the greater the synergistic effect during recovery.