Reinforcement of styrene‐butadiene/polybutadiene rubber compounds by modified silicas with different surface and networked states

ABSTRACT In this study, the reinforcement performance of the modified silicas prepared through the incorporation of 3‐aminopropyltriethoxy silane (AP) and further reaction of bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BG) to styrene‐butadiene/butadiene rubber (SBR/BR) compounds was investigated to discuss the effect of surface and networked states on the properties of silica‐filled rubber compounds. The adjustment of the ratio of BG to AP varied the surface and networked states of silica. The amino and glycidyl groups dispersed on the silica and the networks formed on/between silica particles considerably influenced the properties of SBR/BR compounds reinforced with the modified silicas. The presence of amino group increased viscosity of the rubber compounds due to the attrition between rubber chains and silica particles, while the entanglement of rubber chains with the networks successfully improve both wet traction and rolling resistance, without sacrificing the fundamental properties of the rubber compounds, even though no coupling agents were applied. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017, 134, 44893.