Filler–Rubber Interactions In a_Cellulose-Filled Styrene Butadiene Rubber Composites M. Haghighat, 1 S. Nouri Khorasani, 1 A. Zadhoush 2 1 Chemical Engineering Department, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156, Iran 2 Textile Engineering Department, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156, Iran In this study, the interactions between rubber and ﬁll- ers in a_cellulose-ﬁlled styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) composites were investigated. The results obtained from the tensile and tear strength, abrasion resistance, and hardness indicate that addition of 5-phr a_cellulose into compound not only does not affect rubber–carbon black bond but improves the mentioned physicome- chanical properties. In this study, the type of carbon black was changed from N 330 to N 550. The main pur- pose of this investigation was to observe the possible changes in physicomechanical properties due to this change. Obtained results show that overall observation of the trends of results do not change with type of car- bon black. It can be concluded that the presence of a_cellulose does not have signiﬁcant inﬂuence on the performance of carbon black in the compounds used. POLYM. COMPOS., 28:748–754, 2007. ª 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers INTRODUCTION Most usage of elastomers would be impossible without the reinforcing character of certain ﬁllers, such as carbon blacks and structured silica [1]. In other words, commercial applications of elastomers often require the use of particulate ﬁllers to obtain the desired reinforcement [2, 3]. With an implicit reference to tire technology, reinforcement is usually deﬁned as the ‘‘improvement in abrasion, tear, cutting and rupture resistance, in stiffness and hardness of vulcanized compounds through the incorporation of ﬁnely divided (min- eral) particles [1].’’ Quite a large variety of powdered miner- als can be compounded with elastomers but not all have reinforcing capabilities, and essentially two classes of pow- dered minerals have been found to offer signiﬁcant reinforc- ing effects: carbon blacks and high-structure silica [1]. Rein- forcement concerns ﬁnished rubber parts, which means vul- canized materials; but it is quite remarkable that ﬂow properties of rubber compounds begin to signiﬁcantly differ from those of unﬁlled materials when the ﬁller has reinforcing capabilities. In addition to usual hydrodynamics (or volume fraction) effects, reinforcing ﬁllers impart indeed other modiﬁ- cations in ﬂow properties whose origin is assigned to strong interactions arising among the various compounding ingre- dients, obviously taking place in the early time of material preparation, i.e. during mixing, it is quite logic to expect some links between the peculiar ﬂow properties induced by the ﬁller in the uncured state of the compound, and the reinforcement obtained after vulcanization [1]. The reinforcement of elastomers by particulate ﬁllers have been studied in depth in numerous investigations, and it is generally accepted that this phenomenon is, to a large extent, dependent on the physical interactions between the ﬁller and rubber matrix, which can determine the degree of adhesion at interfaces. Generally, it is dependent on the active functional groups, surface energy, and energetically different crystallite faces of the ﬁller surfaces [3, 4, 5, 6]. Interactions between ﬁllers and rubbers have a signiﬁcant effect on reinforcement properties of a ﬁlled rubber. The chemical and physical properties of both the rubber and ﬁller as well as the amount of each present in a compound inﬂu- ence these interactions. Rubber–rubber interactions mainly occur when blends of rubber are used in compounds and are considered to be not as signiﬁcant as ﬁller–rubber and ﬁller– ﬁller interactions. Filler–rubber interactions are described by the compatibility of the ﬁller with the rubber, while ﬁller–ﬁl- ler interactions are described by the attraction of a ﬁller to itself and the ability to form a network. Filler–ﬁller interac- tions are a primary mechanism in reinforcement, especially at high ﬁller loading. These attractions depend on chemical interactions between the ﬁller particle surfaces (ﬁller–ﬁller, ﬁller–rubber), physical interactions (van der Waals forces, hydrogen bonding), morphology of the ﬁller network, and ﬁller volume fraction [4]. Fillers used in the rubber industry have diverse effects on the technological characteristics, the processability of elastomers, and the physicomechanical properties of vul- canized stocks. The characterization of rubber–ﬁller inter- Correspondence to: A. Zadhoush; e-mail: zadhoush@cc.iut.ac.ir DOI 10.1002/pc.20332 Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). V V C 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers POLYMERCOMPOSITES—-2007