Reinforcing mechanism and experimental study of environmentally friendly potassium oleate in silica/natural rubber system.

This paper prepared potassium oleate/silica/natural rubber composites by atomization spray drying technology. This study compared the effects of the environmental protection accelerator potassium oleate and amine accelerator 1,3‐diphenylguanidine on the Payne effect, silane reaction index, vulcanization performance, mechanical properties, static and dynamic mechanical properties, and aging properties of silica/natural rubber. The results show that potassium oleate can promote the silane reaction and increase the silane reaction's efficiency. When potassium oleate formed the silica coating, the carboxyl group of potassium oleate and the hydroxyl group of silica were bonded to form a covalent bond, which reduced the polarity of silica and promoted the dispersion effect of silica in the rubber matrix and enhanced the compatibility with rubber. Compared with the original formulation, after adding 3 phr of potassium oleate, the fracture elongation of vulcanized rubber was increased by 17.2%, tensile product increased by 57.3% and rolling resistance decreased by 54.6%. After adding 3 phr of 1,3‐diphenylguanidine, the fracture elongation of vulcanized rubber was increased by 1.1%, tensile product increased by 51.1% and rolling resistance decreased by 48.6%. In contrast, the anti‐aging performance of the rubber composites with potassium oleate was better than that of 1,3‐diphenylguanidine. This study opens up a new way to apply a new green rubber accelerator and prepare high‐performance rubber composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]