Reinforcing mechanisms of carbon nanotubes and high structure carbon black in natural rubber/styrene‐butadiene rubber blend prepared by mechanical mixing − effect of bound rubber

The reinforcing effect of high structure carbon black (HSCB) and multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on natural rubber/styrene‐butadiene rubber blend processed using mechanical mixing was comparatively investigated. In‐depth analysis by dynamic mechanical analysis, the Eggers − Schummer model and Medalia's relationship showed that HSCB aggregates provided large internal pores leading to significant immobilized macromolecules in filled rubber. Additionally, a tubular immobilized rubber layer with a thickness of 8 nm was estimated for the rubber/MWCNT system based on dynamic mechanical analysis data. The mechanical performance of the HSCB filled blend was higher than that of the MWCNT filled blend at the same loading which was correlated to its higher bound rubber content. Both bound rubber content and filler anisotropy were found to govern the overall mechanical properties of rubber/MWCNT composites. Stress softening was correlated with rupture energy suggesting hysteretic failure mechanisms in both MWCNT and HSCB filled rubbers.