Title: Modern elastomers using anisotropic carbon based fillers

Abstract

Modern elastomers used in several technical applications should fulfil increasing requirements like especially concerning heat stability, media stability, permeation behavior, electrical conductivity, strength and abrasion properties. Beside the selection of an appropriate polymer, an improved cross linking system and other additives, the fillers play an important role. Nano-scaled materials like carbon nanotubes (CNT), nano-graphite nanoG), graphene platelets (GNP), graphenes and carbon nanohorns (CNH) are fillers with high potential, caused by high specific surfaces and spheric porous or high aspect ratio morphologies. In the presented work high sophisticated raw materials like CNTs, different GNP-materials and carbonanohorns are characterized for their morphology, specific surfaces and adsorption properties.Rubber compunds containing such fillers are prepared using polyisoprene (IR), nitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR), fluoro rubbers (FKM styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) and slightly epox. (~ 9 % ) SBR or NR.The compounds were characterized for viscosity, vulcanization behaviour, physicals, electrical conductivity and for the filler-polymer interaction by swelling experiments. All investigations are carried out in comparison to traditional used carbon black. Some modifications of the fillers like GNP (commercial type xgC50) were done by oxidation and esterification with the intention to improve the polymer –filler interaction for example in butyl rubber compounds (BIIR).