Sulfur-Modified Carbon Nanotubes for the Development of Advanced Elastomeric Materials
The outstanding properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) present some limitations when introduced into rubber matrices, especially when these nano-particles are applied in high-performance tire tread compounds. Their tendency to agglomerate into bundles due to van der Waals interactions, the strong inf...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Polymers |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/13/5/821 |
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| author | Pilar Bernal-Ortega M. Mar Bernal Anke Blume Antonio González-Jiménez Pilar Posadas Rodrigo Navarro Juan L. Valentín |
| author_facet | Pilar Bernal-Ortega M. Mar Bernal Anke Blume Antonio González-Jiménez Pilar Posadas Rodrigo Navarro Juan L. Valentín |
| author_sort | Pilar Bernal-Ortega |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The outstanding properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) present some limitations when introduced into rubber matrices, especially when these nano-particles are applied in high-performance tire tread compounds. Their tendency to agglomerate into bundles due to van der Waals interactions, the strong influence of CNT on the vulcanization process, and the adsorptive nature of filler–rubber interactions contribute to increase the energy dissipation phenomena on rubber–CNT compounds. Consequently, their expected performance in terms of rolling resistance is limited. To overcome these three important issues, the CNT have been surface-modified with oxygen-bearing groups and sulfur, resulting in an improvement in the key properties of these rubber compounds for their use in tire tread applications. A deep characterization of these new materials using functionalized CNT as filler was carried out by using a combination of mechanical, equilibrium swelling and low-field NMR experiments. The outcome of this research revealed that the formation of covalent bonds between the rubber matrix and the nano-particles by the introduction of sulfur at the CNT surface has positive effects on the viscoelastic behavior and the network structure of the rubber compounds, by a decrease of both the loss factor at 60 °C (rolling resistance) and the non-elastic defects, while increasing the crosslink density of the new compounds. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T05:04:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d9b4cc7fa8fb4be88407a142bf662f1d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4360 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T05:04:27Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Polymers |
| spelling | doaj.art-d9b4cc7fa8fb4be88407a142bf662f1d2023-12-03T12:56:21ZengMDPI AGPolymers2073-43602021-03-0113582110.3390/polym13050821Sulfur-Modified Carbon Nanotubes for the Development of Advanced Elastomeric MaterialsPilar Bernal-Ortega0M. Mar Bernal1Anke Blume2Antonio González-Jiménez3Pilar Posadas4Rodrigo Navarro5Juan L. Valentín6Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Polímeros (CSIC), C/Juan de la Cierva 3, 28006 Madrid, SpainDipartimento di Scienza Applicata e Tecnologia, Politecnico di Torino, 15121 Alessandria, ItalyDepartment of Elastomer Technology and Engineering, University of Twente, Driener-Iolaan 5, 7522 NB Enschede, The NetherlandsMaterials Science and Engineering Area, Rey Juan Carlos University, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, SpainInstituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Polímeros (CSIC), C/Juan de la Cierva 3, 28006 Madrid, SpainInstituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Polímeros (CSIC), C/Juan de la Cierva 3, 28006 Madrid, SpainInstituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Polímeros (CSIC), C/Juan de la Cierva 3, 28006 Madrid, SpainThe outstanding properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) present some limitations when introduced into rubber matrices, especially when these nano-particles are applied in high-performance tire tread compounds. Their tendency to agglomerate into bundles due to van der Waals interactions, the strong influence of CNT on the vulcanization process, and the adsorptive nature of filler–rubber interactions contribute to increase the energy dissipation phenomena on rubber–CNT compounds. Consequently, their expected performance in terms of rolling resistance is limited. To overcome these three important issues, the CNT have been surface-modified with oxygen-bearing groups and sulfur, resulting in an improvement in the key properties of these rubber compounds for their use in tire tread applications. A deep characterization of these new materials using functionalized CNT as filler was carried out by using a combination of mechanical, equilibrium swelling and low-field NMR experiments. The outcome of this research revealed that the formation of covalent bonds between the rubber matrix and the nano-particles by the introduction of sulfur at the CNT surface has positive effects on the viscoelastic behavior and the network structure of the rubber compounds, by a decrease of both the loss factor at 60 °C (rolling resistance) and the non-elastic defects, while increasing the crosslink density of the new compounds.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/13/5/821carbon nanotubessulfurfunctionalizationnatural rubber |
| spellingShingle | Pilar Bernal-Ortega M. Mar Bernal Anke Blume Antonio González-Jiménez Pilar Posadas Rodrigo Navarro Juan L. Valentín Sulfur-Modified Carbon Nanotubes for the Development of Advanced Elastomeric Materials Polymers carbon nanotubes sulfur functionalization natural rubber |
| title | Sulfur-Modified Carbon Nanotubes for the Development of Advanced Elastomeric Materials |
| title_full | Sulfur-Modified Carbon Nanotubes for the Development of Advanced Elastomeric Materials |
| title_fullStr | Sulfur-Modified Carbon Nanotubes for the Development of Advanced Elastomeric Materials |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sulfur-Modified Carbon Nanotubes for the Development of Advanced Elastomeric Materials |
| title_short | Sulfur-Modified Carbon Nanotubes for the Development of Advanced Elastomeric Materials |
| title_sort | sulfur modified carbon nanotubes for the development of advanced elastomeric materials |
| topic | carbon nanotubes sulfur functionalization natural rubber |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/13/5/821 |
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