Views: 33 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2025-09-11 Origin: Site
Rubber blending is an important means to improve the performance of rubber materials. By blending different types of rubber, the advantages of each rubber can be integrated to meet the diverse performance requirements of rubber in different application scenarios. Polyethylene glycol (PEG), as a common additive, has a significant impact on the performance in rubber blending systems. Among them, PEG - 4000 shows certain universal laws and differences in different rubber blending systems due to its specific molecular structure and performance.
PEG - 4000 can have a positive impact on the processing performance of rubber compounds. During the mixing process, it can act as a lubricant, reducing the friction between the rubber compound and the equipment, making the rubber compound more easily dispersed uniformly in equipment such as open mills and internal mixers, thereby improving the mixing efficiency. For example, in the production of some complex rubber products, such as the mixing of the inner liner compound of tires, after adding PEG - 4000, the fluidity of the rubber compound is enhanced, making it easier to fill and form in the mold, reducing product defects caused by poor rubber compound flow, such as bubbles and insufficient rubber filling, and improving the product qualification rate.
In rubber composite materials, adding an appropriate amount of PEG - 4000 helps to improve the tensile strength of vulcanized rubber. Take the silica - filled rubber system as an example. PEG - 4000 can promote the dispersion of silica in the rubber matrix, enhancing the interaction between silica and rubber molecules, enabling the stress to be transmitted more evenly, thus improving the material's ability to resist tensile failure. When 0.5 parts of PEG - 4000 are added to the inner liner formula, the anti - failure ability of the rubber compound is improved, which is directly reflected in the increase of the tensile strength of the vulcanized rubber.
PEG - 4000 can also increase the elongation of vulcanized rubber to a certain extent. The flexible segments in the molecular structure of PEG - 4000 can play a certain plasticizing role between rubber molecular chains, allowing the rubber molecular chains to stretch more freely when受力, thereby improving the elongation performance of the material. In some application scenarios where rubber products need to have good elastic deformation ability, such as rubber seals, the increase in elongation can ensure that the seals can better adapt to deformation under different working conditions and maintain a good sealing effect.
In the dynamic use process of rubber products, hysteresis heat generation is a key issue. Excessive heat generation can lead to performance degradation and shortened service life of rubber materials. The addition of PEG - 4000 can improve the interaction between rubber molecular chains, reducing the internal friction of rubber during deformation, thereby reducing hysteresis heat generation. This is particularly important for rubber products such as tires that generate a large amount of heat during high - speed driving, which can improve the service life and safety of tires.
PEG - 4000 is a good silica activator. Silica has a large number of hydroxyl groups on its surface, which cause the silica particles to easily agglomerate and be difficult to disperse in rubber, thus affecting the performance of rubber. The oxygen atoms in the PEG - 4000 molecule can form hydrogen bonds with the hydroxyl groups on the silica surface, effectively reducing the polarity of the silica surface, reducing its agglomeration phenomenon, and enabling it to be better dispersed in the rubber matrix. Through a comparative test with the commonly used silane coupling agent Si - 69, it is found that when the filling amount of silica is relatively large (generally more than 30 parts), the activation effect of PEG - 4000 on silica is more obvious than that of Si - 69.
PEG - 4000 can not only improve the dispersion of silica but also enhance the interface interaction between silica and rubber. This enhanced interaction enables silica to better play its reinforcing role, improving the overall performance of rubber. In actual production, when using silica to fill rubber to prepare high - performance rubber products, the addition of PEG - 4000 can form a more effective bond between silica and rubber, thereby enhancing the comprehensive performance of the products.
Since PEG - 4000 has a good activation effect in high - filled silica systems, in some cases, the usage of relatively expensive silane coupling agents (such as Si - 69) can be reduced. Taking the silica - filled rubber formula as an example, on the premise of meeting certain performance requirements, after using PEG - 4000, the usage of Si - 69 can be appropriately reduced, thereby reducing the formula cost.
PEG - 4000 improves the dispersion of fillers such as silica in rubber and the interaction with rubber, enabling the fillers to fully play their reinforcing role. This means that under the condition of achieving the same performance indicators, the usage of fillers can be appropriately reduced, further reducing the raw material cost. For example, in the inner liner formula, adding PEG - 4000 improves the dispersion of fillers such as light calcium carbonate. While ensuring the performance of the rubber compound, it is possible to reduce the usage of light calcium carbonate and reduce the cost.
PEG - 4000 improves the processing performance and fluidity of rubber compounds, making the surface of rubber products smoother during the molding process, reducing surface defects and unevenness, and improving the appearance quality of products. This is of great significance for some rubber products with high appearance requirements, such as rubber decorations and toys.
By adding PEG - 4000, the comprehensive performance of rubber products is improved, enabling rubber products to meet the requirements of more special working conditions and application scenarios. For example, in some fields such as aerospace and the automotive industry, which have high requirements for material flexibility, fatigue resistance, and aging resistance, rubber products modified by PEG - 4000 may have a wider range of applications.
Related Literature:
The Application of Silica Activator PEG - 4000 in Rubber Formulas - Yang Debing
The Application of Polyethylene Glycol PEG4000 in Inner Liner Formulas - Gu Peishuang
