Investigation of the Reinforcing Action of Silicon Dioxide from Vietnamese Rice Hulls in Elastomeric Materials Based on Non-Polar Rubbers

Abstract

The reinforcing effect on rubbers of silicon dioxide (KRS) obtained from rice husk ash by alkaline treatment was studied. The KRS were synthesized in the laboratory of the Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST) in Vietnam. The study of the reinforcing effect of KRS on rubbers was carried out in comparison with industrially used Zeosil 200 MP silicon dioxide and carbon black N220 in model rubber compounds based on Buna® SB 1500 styrene-butadiene rubber. Using an energy-dispersive spectrometer in accordance with ISO 15632-2021, data onto the elemental composition of the KRS were obtained, and images of the KRS particles were obtained using a JEOL JEM 1010 electron microscope. The study of the kinetics of vulcanization of rubber compounds and the Payne effect was carried out on a MonTech Dynamic Rubber Process Analyzer D-RPA 3000. The degree of crosslink of vulcanization was assessed according to the data onto the equilibrium swelling by rubbers in toluene. The results showed that silica derived from Vietnamese rice husk ash provide rubbers with strengths and elongations at break that are equal to or even superior to rubbers made using industrially used Zeosil 200MP with a similar specific surface area. The use of a coupling agent in the rubber formulation leads to the destruction of the «filler-filler» networks, but increases the overall degree of cross-linking of the polymer composition due to the formation of chemical bonds at the «filler-elastomer» interface and increases the strength of vulcanization.