Facile strategies for green tire tread with enhanced filler-matrix interfacial interactions and dynamic mechanical properties

Abstract

Developing high-performance “green” tire tread material with superior balanced integrated properties is of vital importance in view of environment, resource and energy consideration. In this work, effective and facile strategies concerning macromolecular functionalization and cross-linkable crystalline component incorporation have been proposed to fabricate tire composite materials with balanced integrated performances. The polymer phase structures, filler dispersion, filler-polymer interfacial interactions, and the performances of the resultant composites were investigated in detail. With the introduction of cross-linkable crystalline component, the rubber blends exhibited complex phase morphology analogous to that in the case of integral rubber beside the existence of crystalline fibrils. Additionally, it was demonstrated that the filler dispersion and filler-rubber interactions were enhanced by the synergistic strategies. Consequently, the resultant rubber composites F-SSBR/BR/TBIR displayed excellent integrated properties, such as 200–288% higher fatigue lifetime, 10–26% lower rolling resistance, 25% higher wet-skid resistance and 6–13% higher abrasion resistance. This work will provide effective method and relevant theoretical basis to the development of high-performance “green” tire composite materials.