Silica-starch-reinforced styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) was prepared by a modified sol-gel method of mixing the silica sol, the starch paste, and then in situ blending the SBR latex. The fracture surface of the samples after the tensile test was characterized by FE-SEM. The tensile strength, the storage modulus, the hardness and the swelling test of the vulcanized samples were systematically discussed. The results showed the elongation at break, the hardness and the storage modulus increased with the increasing of silica in the as-prepared samples. The swelling ratio decreased with increase in the content of silica, indicative of the excellent crosslink density in the silica-starch-reinforced SBR.

Keywords: silica; starch; styrene-butadiene rubber; sol-gel; in situ