Evaluation of the Curing Package for Eco-Friendly Tire Tread Compounds

The goal of the study is to understand the different behavior of conventional accelerators in silica-filled S-SBR/BR in order to find a bio-based alternative. Besides, it was recently discovered that Zinc oxide and stearic acid are not needed to activate the curing reaction in high vinyl S-SBR. Therefore, accelerators with different chemical functional groups were evaluated in simplified tread compounds with and without activators. The interactions between activators, accelerators, and sulfur were further studied, as well as the mechanism of the vulcanization reaction. The outcome of the study forms a starting point for the development of a more sustainable accelerator.