Synergistically enhanced thermal control ability and mechanical properties of natural rubber for tires through a graphene/silica with a dot-face structure

Graphene was widely used to reinforce rubber composites due to its excellent mechanical and thermal properties. When graphene rubber was applied to tires, it often faces the problem that mechanical properties and thermal control capability could not be optimized simultaneously. The f-(SiO2-KH550/GO) (f-SKG) particle with a flexible shell structure and vulcanization effect was chemically grafted on the molecular chain of natural rubber (NR) by the thiol-ene click reaction. Since the sulfhydryl functional groups on the surface of the f-SKG particles could act as a bridge to connect the NR molecular chains, more NR molecules were confined on the surface of the f-SKG particles. This enhanced filler-matrix interface interaction and good dispersibility synergistically enhanced the rubber composites to obtain excellent mechanical properties, low heat generation performance (19 ℃) and good thermal conductivity (0.55 Wm−1 K−1). This not only met the requirements of tire rubber for mechanical properties, but also significantly improved the thermal control ability of graphene rubber tires. More importantly, through finite element simulation and experimental verification, the influence of the thermal conductivity and loss factor of rubber on tires was revealed. This strategy provided creative insights for the preparation of high-performance graphene rubber tires.Graphical abstractGraphene-filled rubber with point-surface structure has enhanced interfacial interaction and thermal control ability, which promotes the development of green tires