The silane modification in silica-filled rubber composites is essential to fulfil the potentials of silica. However, the silanization efficiency of silica generally remains unsatisfactory. Promoting silica silanization contributes to not only the improvements on composite properties, but also the reduction in volatile organic compound emissions during processing. In this work, we present a novel way to promote silica silanization in rubber composites by supporting ceria nanocrystals on silica surface. Specifically, silica supported with varied ceria nanocrystal loading is synthesized and used as a novel reinforcement for styrene-butadiene rubber. Model compound experiments demonstrate that the ceria on silica surface can effectively promote the silanization reaction based on its unique acid-base property. Due to the promoted silica silanization, silica dispersion is greatly improved and interfacial interaction is remarkably enhanced in the composites. Accordingly, the resulting composites filled with ceria-anchored silica exhibit desirable improvements on the tensile modulus and dynamic mechanical properties, which is conductive to tire application.

硅烷二氧化硅填充橡胶复合材料的改性对于发挥二氧化硅的潜力至关重要。然而，二氧化硅的硅烷化效率通常仍不能令人满意。促进二氧化硅硅烷化不仅有助于提高复合材料的性能，而且有助于减少加工过程中的挥发性有机化合物排放。在这项工作中，我们提出了一种通过在二氧化硅表面负载二氧化铈纳米晶体来促进橡胶复合材料中二氧化硅硅烷化的新方法。具体而言，合成了负载有不同二氧化铈纳米晶体负载的二氧化硅，并将其用作丁苯橡胶的新型增强材料。模型化合物实验表明，二氧化硅表面的二氧化铈以其独特的酸碱性质，能有效促进硅烷化反应。由于促进了二氧化硅硅烷化，二氧化硅分散性大大改善，复合材料中的界面相互作用显着增强。因此，得到的填充有二氧化铈锚定二氧化硅的复合材料在拉伸模量和动态力学性能，有利于轮胎应用。