Abstract
In situ silica reinforcement for the acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) vulcanizates, which were premixed with a conventional silica (VN-3) and γ-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (γ-MPS), was achieved by the sol-gel reaction of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) using ethylenediamine. It was observed that the reinforcement efficiency tended to increase with the increase of mechanically premixed conventional silica. From the observations of transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, the simultaneous use of VN-3 and γ-MPS was found to promote the formation of large silica particles and clusters with a relatively good dispersion by the sol-gel reaction of TEOS in the NBR vulcanizate. The results of hysteresis measurements supported this promotion. It was considered to be due to the surface modification of VN-3 by the sol-gel reaction of TEOS and the presence of γ-MPS which worked as a dispersion agent for silica particles. The relationship between the mechanical properties and the morphology of the in situ silica filled vulcanizates is discussed.
