The effect of POSS nanoparticles on crosslinking of styrene-butadiene rubber nanocomposites

The effect of octaisobutyl-polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (OIB-POSS) as a nanosized reinforcement on the cure kinetics, crosslinking density, and mechanical properties of styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) nanocomposites was examined in this study. For this purpose, SBR compounds with various OIB-POSS nanoparticle loadings at 1, 3, and 5 phr were prepared and their results were compared with a reference compound without OIB-POSS. When 1 phr of OIB-POSS was added to the rubber matrix, the elongation at break values and tensile strength of the corresponding nanocomposite increased by 24.1% and 29.2% compared to the reference sample, respectively. The presence of OIB-POSS nanoparticles and their random distribution in the SBR matrix was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. The crosslinking density of nanocomposites was calculated by the Flory-Rehner method and a decrease was observed with the addition of OIB-POSS nanoparticles. In addition, thermal aging process as 70 °C for 70 h was applied to vulcanized samples. It was noted that the mechanical properties of SBR/OIB-POSS nanocomposites remarkably improved, whereas their crosslinking densities gradually decreased after thermal aging.