Preparation And Application Of Silica/Natural Rubber Nanocomposite Masterbatch

As an important rubber reinforcing filler,the traditional process for producing silica/rubber nanocomposites is the dry mixing process,i.e.mechanical mixing,which uses the strong shear force of the compacting machine to disperse and modify the silica at the same time,with high energy consumption,low efficiency,not easy to produce continuously,and accompanied by dust and VOC gas emission,so there is a need to select a more energy-saving and environmentally friendly mixing method.Therefore,it is necessary to select a more energy-saving and environmentally friendly mixing method.To address this problem,this paper adopts a wet mixing method,i.e.,using a biphasic modifier AEO and silane coupling agent Si69 to modify silica in the liquid phase to prepare a well-dispersed stable silica slurry,which is then mixed with natural latex and spray dried to prepare a silica/natural rubber nanocomposite masterbatch,and reveals the relationship between the structure and properties of the masterbatch:(1)The silica/natural rubber nanocomposite masterbatch was prepared by modifying the silica with different modifier ratios to produce a stable dispersion of silica slurry,which was then processed and characterised by transmission electron microscopy,thermal weight loss analysis,dynamic mechanical properties testing,mechanical properties and abrasion properties.Si69 is chemically bound but insoluble in water and cannot effectively modify silica alone,but works well in combination.The dynamic mechanical properties were found to be good when four parts of AEO were used.(2)The effect of silica slurry preparation equipment and silica liquid phase modification hydrolysis process on the properties of silica/natural rubber composites was investigated.Characterised by thermal weight loss analysis,dynamic mechanical property testing,mechanical properties and abrasion properties,it was found that the silica slurry preparation equipment using sand mill was more ideal and the composite had better properties compared to the colloid mill,while the hydrolysis modifier method was less effective.(3)In order to meet the actual industrial needs,silica/natural rubber nanocomposite masterbatches were prepared with different amounts of silica and different specific surface areas,and characterised by thermal weight loss analysis,dynamic mechanical properties testing,mechanical properties and wear properties,etc.The best modifier ratio was selected as the basis for the next application.The best modifier ratio was selected to provide the basis for the next application.