Reinforcement of natural rubber latex with silica modified by cerium oxide: preparation and properties

Variable masses of nano cerium oxide (CeO2) were added into nano silica (SiO2) to prepare the well-dispersed SiO2-CeO2 suspension (SiO2-CeO2), cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) was used to adjust the compatibility of SiO2-CeO2 with rubber matrix, then SiO2-CeO2 modified by CTAB and curing formulas were mixed with fresh natural rubber (NR) latex to prepare NR/SiO2-CeO2 nanocomposites that contained 0-10 parts of CeO2 by a new emulsion compounding method. The morphologies, cure characteristics, mechanical properties and thermal-oxidative stability of NR/SiO2-CeO2 nanocomposites were investigated. The results revealed that the presence of CeO2 in NR/SiO2-CeO2 nanocomposites was favorable for enhancing the interaction between NR matrix and fillers, helped to get smaller SiO2-CeO2 particles with narrower particle size distribution, further improved the crosslink densities and mechanical properties of NR/SiO2-CeO2 nanocomposites vulcanizates. Meanwhile, the addition of CeO2 increased the active energy at least 4.66%, obviously improved the thermal-oxidative aging-inhibiting properties of NR/SiO2-CeO2 nanocomposites. Additionally, nanocomposites containing CeO2 promoted T-g shift to high temperature direction, causing the nanocomposites featured higher tan delta at 0 degrees C and lower tan delta at 60 degrees C and exhibited comparable wet grip and lower rolling resistance when NR/SiO2-CeO2 nanocomposites were used in tire tread compound.