Effect of the Super Network on Rubber Reinforcement

Abstract

The influence of carbon black (CB) on rubber reinforcement was studied. A new reinforcement model, the super network structure model, was proposed. The super network is composed of irreversible chemical crosslinks and reversible physical crosslinks due to CB–rubber interaction. The two crosslink systems are not isolated but interlaced with each other. With increased interaction strength of the reversible physical crosslinks, the CB reinforcement became more effective.

Keywords:

• chemical crosslinks
• physical crosslinks
• rubber reinforcement
• stress/strain curves
• super network structure

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC50903030 and NSFC51273065).