Cure Characteristics, Mechanical Properties and Abrasion Resistance of Silica Filled Natural Rubber Vulcanizate

Silica which is used for reinforcing filler in tire industry is widely known as eco-friendly material exerting CO2 reduction effect through decrease of rolling resistance and improvement of wet grip. Generally silica is classified as a highly polar filler because it contains a large number of silanol (Si-OH) group on its surface. And also silica gives a lower rein- forcing effect than carbon black due to its poorer rubber-filler interaction. Therefore silica is treated with silane coupling agent or activator, then following the conventional rubber blend method, vulcanized sheets were prepared using a hot press, and cure characteristics, mechanical properties and abrasion resistance of the test specimens were investigated. It was found that with an increase in the silane coupling agent content the tensile strength, 300% modulus and abrasion resistance increased while Mooney viscosity decreased and crosslink density slightly increased with an increase of activator.