ROLE OF PARTICULATE FILLERS IN ELASTOMER REINFORCEMENT - REVIEW

In a treatise of this size it is impossible to discuss reinforcement in all its ramifications. The author has attempted to put the emphasis on an understanding of the observed phenomena wherever possible and has gone into detail only when necessary. Naturally the judgement of the importance of details is a subjective matter and not everybody may agree with the author's treatment. An attempt is made to present a unified picture in which differences between concepts and theories are given secondary importance and the agreements between them are emphasized. Much of the subject will deal with carbon black, the most universally used reinforcing filler, but other fillers such as the silicas with their coupling agents are also discussed and compared with carbon black. Similarities and differences between fillers are related to the resulting differences in the properties of the final elastomer-filler composite. Some attention is also given to the growing importance of the fibrous filler. Several review articles and books have dealt with reinforcement. See references 1 to 5. © 1979.