Developing ethylene-propylene-diene rubber compounds for industrial applications using a sulfur-bearing silanized silica nanofiller

The loading of a sulfur-bearing silanized silica nanofiller in ethylene-propylene-diene rubber with 4.5 wt % of ethylidene norbornene diene content was increased progressively to 60 parts per hundred rubber by weight. The rubber compounds were cured via the tetrasulfane groups of the silane by adding sulfenamide accelerator and zinc oxide. The hardness, tensile strength, elongation at break, stored energy density at break, tear strength, Young’s modulus, M50-M300, compression set, cyclic fatigue life and bound rubber content of the rubber vulcanizates were measured. With the exception of the elongation at break and compression set which deteriorated, the remaining properties improved and the rate of cure, optimum cure time and crosslink density benefitted also when the loading of silica was increased in the rubber. The bound rubber content was unchanged and the cyclic fatigue life of the rubber vulcanizate enhanced considerably when silica was added. Optimizing the chemical bonding between the rubber and filler via the tetrasulfane groups of TESPT reduced the chemical curatives in the rubber. This was a major improvement in health, safety and environment.