Abstract
In recent years, materials with enhanced mechanical properties have attracted both fundamental and industrial interest. The present study concerns nanocomposites (NCs) made by dispersion of silica nanoparticles in a soft polymer matrix of styrene/butadiene (SB), which is commonly used in car tires. We work on both a simplified industrial system (solid mixing with millimetric silica pellets) and we developed a model system (solvent casting with surface-modified colloidal silica). The NC characteristics may be tuned by the grafting of silane coating agents (SCAs) which differ in the length of their alkyl groups (different hydrophobicity). These agents may influence filler dispersion via different polymer/filler and filler/filler interactions. The investigation of NC materials is essential for many industrial applications, in particular for the improvement of tire performances from an energetical and climatical point of view.