Analyzing modification of carbon black (Part 1)

Chemical modification allows improvement in certain filler properties without a simultaneous negative impact on other competing properties. Energy Saver Blacks are chemically modified fillers (carbon blacks) that are designed to provide reduced rolling resistance in tire compounds without detrimentally affecting tire treadwear. These advances have been demonstrated in a variety of synthetic and natural rubber compounds by significantly improving filler-polymer interactions through a proposed mechanism that will be described in this paper. The use of the Energy Saver Blacks to develop advanced high performing compounds requires no coupling agents and no additional high temperature mixing steps, as are needed with the silica-silane mixing.