English Abstract

Structure Analyses of Swollen Rubber-carbon Black Systems byContrast Variation SANS

Mikihito TAKENAKA *1
Shotaro NISHITSUJI *1
Sumiaki FUJII *1
Naoya AMINO *2
Yasuhiro ISHIKAWA *2
Daisuke YAMAGUCHI *3
Satoshi KOIZUMI *3
*1:Department of Polymer Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto ,Japan
*2:The Yokohama-rubber Company, Ltd., Hiratsuka, Kanagawa, Japan
*3:Advanced Science Research Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Tokai, Ibaraki, Japan
Nippon Gomu Kyokaishi,(2010),83(12),390-394 Original Paper in Japanese

The polymer layers adsorbed on carbon black (CB) aggregates in rubber/CB systems have been investigated with contrast variation small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) method. Specimens were swollen by toluene/deuterated toluene solvents having various scattering length densities and their scattering intensities were measured with SANS.
The contrast variation SANS for the specimens yielded partial scattering functions: the scattering function for polymer-polymer correlation Spp(q), the scattering function for CB- CB correlation Scc(q), and the scattering function for polymer- CB correlation Spc(q). The analyses of the partial scattering functions explored the existence of dense polymer layers around CB aggregates. Several characteristic parameters are estimated from the analyses, such as the size of aggregates, the thickness of layers, and the volume fractions of polymer of layers and matrix.

Keywords: Contrast Variation Small-angle Neutron Scattering, Rubber-filler System, Adsorption Layer, Carbon Black, Partial Scattering Function