The Hysteresis Temperature and Strain Dependences in Filled Rubbers

Abstract

Abstract The strong hysteresis (tan δ) temperature dependence observed in filled compounds containing functional polymers was investigated by studying the individual effect of filler-filler (F-F) and polymer-filler interactions (P-F). Silica filled compounds were prepared by adding n -octyl-triethoxyl or mercatopropyl-trimethoxyl silane. Both silanes are capable of retarding filler flocculation upon heating and give compounds with less developed filler networks either by reducing F-F interactions or by screening filler networks through P-F attachments. The filler network is shown to mediate the low-temperature hysteresis due to the polymer glass transition (T g ) by changing the temperature dependence of the compound dynamic storage modulus (G′). At temperatures far above the T g , the compound tan δ is governed by mechanisms that control the degree of filler networking. Compounds with less developed networks show weaker strain dependence on G′ and tan δ. Both reduced F-F and increased P-F interactions will give a compound with a less developed network. However, significant reduced tan δ is only found in a system that shows strong P-F interaction due to less energy loss upon deformation by fewer network breakage and increased P-F crosslinks. This is exemplified by comparing the compound loss moduli (G″) of various stocks with corresponding G′ in G-plot (G″ vs. G′).