Structure and performance of silica/functionalized solution-polymerized styrene butadiene rubber/epoxidized butadiene rubber nanocomposites

Functionalized solution-polymerized styrene butadiene rubber (FSSBR) is extensively used in “green tires” tread, so it is very important to improve the phase distribution of silica in FSSBR blends. In this work, the butadiene rubber (BR) is epoxidized (EBR) and blended with FSSBR. The effect of epoxidation degree on the structure and performance of the silica in combination with bis-(γ-triethoxysilylpropyl) disulfide (TESPD) filled FSSBR/EBR nanocomposites (S/FSSBR/EBR) is investigated. S/FSSBR/EBR3 nanocomposite with epoxidation degree of 3% achieves the best dispersion and phase distribution of silica by ring-opening reaction between epoxy group of EBR and silanol group of silica. Compared with silica in combination with TESPD filled FSSBR/BR nanocomposite (S/FSSBR/BR), S/FSSBR/EBR3 has better abrasion resistance, 13% improvement in wet-skid resistance and 15% reduction in rolling resistance, which provides an excellent solution for the preparation of high-performance “green tires".