Comparative study of natural rubber and styrene-butadiene rubber blends reinforced with different carbon black grades for tire tread production.

Authors

R Singer, A M Ollick, M Elhadary, Ibrahim M El-Sherbiny, A Gomma

Published in

Scientific reports. Volume 16. Issue 1. Aug 11, 2026. Epub Aug 11, 2026.

Abstract

In this study, the effect of carbon black (CB) on the properties of natural rubber (NR) and styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) blends were investigated. Carbon black with different grades, N330 and N550, was used as a reinforcing filler of NR/SBR blends. The rubber compounds were prepared using a two-roll mill followed by sulfur vulcanization at a fixed filler content of 50 phr and different NR/SBR blend ratios. The mechanical properties were estimated through tensile strength, tensile modulus, elongation at break, toughness, tear strength, and hardness measurements. By analyzing the results, it was found that both the NR/SBR blend ratio and carbon black types significantly affect the mechanical characteristics of the NR/SBR compounds. NR/SBR blends reinforced with CB N330 exhibited higher strength, while compounds reinforced with CB N550 showed lower strength. This behavior is due to the smaller particle size and higher surface area of CB N330, which improves filler-rubber interactions and reinforcing efficiency. Moreover, the NR/SBR blend (75:25) reinforced with CB N330 showed higher tensile strength, modulus, elongation at break, toughness, tear strength, and hardness than the corresponding N550-filled compound, with an increase of 17.53%, 5.5%, 13.42%, 43.29%, 46.3%, and 22.2%, respectively. Additionally, CB N330-filled NR/SBR compounds showed higher residual mass compared to CB N550-filled blends, indicating stronger filler-polymer interactions. Overall, the results explain the relationship between carbon black properties and NR/SBR blend formulation, providing practical guidance for optimizing carbon black selection in tire tread compounds that require enhanced mechanical strength, fracture resistance, and thermal stability.

PMID:
42575922
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 11 Aug 2026.

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