Preparation Of Novel Multifunctional Rubber Additives And Their Application In Rubber/Silica Composites

With the development of economy and society, the tire industry has become a very important part of the automotive industry recently. Meanwhile, higher demands on the properties of tires have been required to meet, such as safety, durability, energy saving and environmental protection. The three driving performances, including rolling loss, wet skid resistance and abrasion resistance, influence and restrain mutually. Reducing rolling loss without damaging its wet skid resistance and abrasion resistance is one of the major research topics in the tire industry which has been concerned for a long time. Because of the advantage in terms of reducing rolling resistance, silica has an increasing attention to be used in tires. However, due to the presence of a large number of hydroxyl groups on the surface, silica tend to coalesce with each other to generate filler network, and the increasing viscosity of rubber makes processing difficult, so it must be modification before used.In this paper, two multi-functional rubber additives, thiazolyl silane coupling agent(Silane-M) and sulfonamide silane coupling agent(Silane-NS), were synthesized. FTIR, UV spectroscopy, elemental analysis, 1H-NMR and MS were used to characterize their chemical structure. Their impacts on the structure and properties of NR/silica and SBR/silica composites were also studied.Silane-M can reduce the curing time and improved the rheological properties of rubber compounds. As the characterization of the composite structure described, Silane-M can increase the crosslink density of the NR / silica composites and improve the dispersion of silica particles in the rubber matrix. Performance test results showed that Silane-M can improve the tensile strength, tear strength and mechanical properties such as modulus of the composite material, and improve wear resistance and compression fatigue performance. Silane-M can also reduce rolling resistance of the NR/Silica composites, but the wet skid resistance of the composite material is deteriorated.Silane-NS significantly reduced the cure time of rubber compound, improved the rheological properties of rubber compounds. According to results of the composite structure, Silane-NS can increase the crosslink density of the SBR/silica composites and improve the dispersion of silica particles in the rubber matrix. Performance test results showed that Silane-NS can improve the tensile strength, tear strength and mechanical properties such as modulus, improve wear resistance and compression fatigue performance of the composite material. Silane-NS can reduce rolling resistance while improving wet skid resistance of composites.