Surface Modification of Rice Husk Ash by Ethanol-assisted Milling to Reinforce the Properties of Natural Rubber/Butadiene Rubber Composites

摘要

Rice husk ash(RHA),obtained by pyrolysis of rice husks,can be used as a potential reinforcing filler for rubber composites.In this work,ball milling in ethanol(ethanol-assisted milling)was used to hydroxylate the surface of RHA,promoting the graft modification of bis-(γ-triethoxysilylpropyl)-tetrasulfide(Si69).The obtained modified RHA(RHA-EM-Si69)was filled into the natural rubber/butadiene rubber(NR/BR)composites,and the filler-rubber interactions were enhanced.In consequence,RHA-EM-Si69 filled NR/BR composites showed overall improvement in the mechanical properties compared with RHA filled NR/BR composites.The tear strength increased from 13.37 kN/m to 34.71 kN/m,and the tensile strength increased from 1.84 MPa to 7.75 MPa.Carbon black(N774)was also used for comparison under the same conditions.This method provides a potential for promoting the value of RHA in rubber industry.