Influence of Ionic Liquids on Structure and Rheological Behaviors of Silica-Filled Butadiene Rubber

Nanoparticle dispersion is important for the performance of rubber compounds. Herein, ionic liquids (ILs) and silane are used to prepare silica-filled butadiene rubber vulcanizates. The results show that replacement of a half of silane by ILs could greatly improve the dispersions of silica and zinc oxide, restrain the migration of sulfur and other additives inside the composite, and maintain the cross-linking degree of the matrix possibly by suppressing the adsorption of sulfur and other additives by silica. The regulated filler dispersity and matrix cross-linking strongly influence the dynamic rheological behaviors of the vulcanizates as a function of silica volume fraction. In comparison with silane, the introduction of ILs could improve the reinforcement effect, reduce energy dissipation, and lower the frequency dependences of loss modulus and loss tangent in the linear region.