Abstract
Silica is a standard commercial filler to reduce rolling resistance of tires. The co-filler of nano-size calcium carbonate and bio-based particles also produce reinforced rubber with similar tensile properties and rolling resistance as silica reinforced rubber. A synergistic effect between calcium carbonate and soy protein nanoparticles was observed to produce reinforced rubber with good tensile properties and low rolling resistance. The protein increases the effective crosslink density and moduli of calcium carbonate reinforced rubber. Stearic acid coated calcium carbonate particles have a greater reinforcement effect than the uncoated calcium carbonate particles. Mechanical properties of the composites can be adjusted through the complimentary effect of these two fillers. The composite that contains 60% protein and 40% coated calcium carbonate has mechanical properties comparable to that of the silica reinforced rubber. The temperature and strain dependent dynamic mechanical properties, as well as the stress relaxation behaviors of these rubbers, reveal synergistic effect between the co-fillers. This development demonstrates an economical method to produce useful reinforced rubbers.
Highlights
Different types of fillers are used to improve the material performance and reduce the cost of reinforced rubbers
Despite nano-sized calcium carbonate particles having been used in different rubbers, the general characteristic of rubber composites reinforced by calcium carbonate particles is that they yield lower modulus compared to rubbers reinforced with carbon black or silica
For rubber composites reinforced with filler, ν2 is the rubber volume fraction after the correction of filler volume. n is the crosslink density defined as the number of network chains between crosslinks
Summary
Different types of fillers are used to improve the material performance and reduce the cost of reinforced rubbers. Low cost, and environmentally friendly rubber composites, soy protein nanoparticles have great potential to significantly improve the mechanical properties of calcium carbonate reinforced rubbers, and this has not been reported. The traditional rubber compounding process was used to incorporate calcium carbonate into the protein reinforced natural rubber in dry state. This approach represents an economical method to significantly improve calcium carbonate reinforced rubbers. The rubber composites reinforced with both calcium carbonate and soy protein nanoparticles show significantly improved mechanical properties, and have the potential to be used in various molded rubber applications. The silica reinforced rubber composite processed under the same conditions is compared, to give an indication of potential applications
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