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Microstructure Evolution and Strain Softening of Carbon Black Filled Natural Rubber Vulcanizates

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Abstract

Incorporation of carbon black (CB) in natural rubber (NR) enhances the Mullins effect and Payne effect of their vulcanizates, but the strain softening mechanisms and the microstructure evolution in the vulcanizates have not been clearly concluded so far. We investigate the Mullins effect and Payne effect of CB filled NR vulcanizates by using cyclic tensile tests at different temperatures and dynamic rheological measurements combined with simultaneous electric conduction. During cyclic stretching, the normalized recovery hysteresis energy and accumulative softening energy for NR/CB vulcanizates with different loadings can be both superimposed on a master curve, indicating that the Mullins effect is mainly dominated by the rubber matrix. The irreversible simultaneous resistance evolution also reveals that the structural evolution of nanoparticles (NPs) network is not directly related to the Mullins effect. Moreover, the extension of linear viscoelastic region and the hysteresis of Payne effect for filled vulcanizates subjected to cyclic stretching indicate the destruction of CB aggregated structure and the interfacial layers between CB and rubber chains during cyclic stretching. This investigation would be illuminating for the microstructure evolution and strain softening of rubber nanocomposites under harsh service conditions.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51790503, 52273084 and 51873181).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China

    Xuan-Yu Shi, Shi-Hao Sun, Li Yang, Jun Zhong, Xiao-Feng Yu, Zheng Xu, Min Zuo, Yi-Hu Song & Qiang Zheng

  2. Shanxi-Zheda Institute of Advanced Materials and Chemical Engineering, Taiyuan, 030001, China

    Min Zuo, Yi-Hu Song & Qiang Zheng

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  1. Xuan-Yu Shi
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  2. Shi-Hao Sun
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  3. Li Yang
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  4. Jun Zhong
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  5. Xiao-Feng Yu
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  6. Zheng Xu
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  7. Min Zuo
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Correspondence to Min Zuo or Qiang Zheng.

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Shi, XY., Sun, SH., Yang, L. et al. Microstructure Evolution and Strain Softening of Carbon Black Filled Natural Rubber Vulcanizates. Chin J Polym Sci 41, 1947–1957 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-023-3025-0

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