Kinetic behavior of the reaction between silica and epoxidized liquid rubber

The use of epoxidized rubber as compatibilizer in silica-filled rubber compounds has been proposed in literature. However, the investigation of the reaction kinetics between the epoxy groups and the hydroxyl groups at the silica surface is not yet described. It is a difficult task, mainly because of the high dilution of the system due the difficulty of incorporating high levels of silica in a matrix containing epoxidized rubbers of high molecular weight. In this work, a mixture of precipitated silica and an epoxidized liquid rubber (EpLHPB) was prepared and the reaction between silanols and epoxy groups was followed by DSC under isothermal conditions, at 150, 160 and 170 degrees C. An autocatalytic data treatment was applied to determine the kinetic parameters of the reaction. Furthermore, it was possible to estimate the amount of epoxy groups required for the saturation of the external surface of the silica, resulting in 5.4 epoxy groups/nm(2).