Constructing a flexible elastic interface in liquid rubber modified graphene oxide/natural rubber composites possessing high abrasion resistance and low heat generation

With the development of new energy vehicles, vehicle weight and the influence of heightened frequency of starting and braking on tire properties are much higher than those for traditional petrol/diesel fuel vehicles, leading to a requirement for much lower rolling resistance and higher abrasion resistance of tire tread rubber. In this research, graphene oxide (GO) was treated by maleic anhydride-grafted polyisoprene liquid rubber (MLR) to form MLR-GO. MLR-GO was further compounded with natural rubber (NR) to obtain MLR-GO/NR composites by green latex compounding and subsequent flocculation. A liquid rubber interfacial layer on the surface of GO increased the spacing between GO lamellae, and improved the dispersion of GO in NR. Due to extensive stretching of molecular chains of MLR and NR in the liquid phase, MLR molecular chains on the surface of MLR-GO were entangled with NR molecules. Moreover, elastic interfaces on the surface of GO were created during the subsequent high-temperature vulcanization process, leading to a strengthening of the interfaces between GO and NR and interfacial friction in the rubber composite was reduced. Results showed the MLR-GO/NR composites had excellent overall performance when the ratio of MLR to GO was 2.5:1. The rolling resistance and temperature rise during dynamic cycling of the 2.5 MLR-GO/NR composites were superior by 10.4 % and 5.2 °C, respectively, and the abrasion resistance was improved by 35.2 %, when compared with the NR composites without GO.