In situ growth of ZnO on carbon nanospheres and its properties in natural rubber

Abstract Carbon Nanospheres (CNs) are nano‐carbon materials. In order to expand their application fields, this study applies them to rubber fillers. In this study, CNs were prepared by vapor deposition method in a high temperature tube furnace. After acidification of CNs, ZnO was grown in situ on the surface of CNs. CNs@ZnO/NR composite was prepared by traditional mechanical blending method. The experimental results showed that the ZnO nanoparticles were adsorbed on the surface of CNs, resulting in a strong interfacial interaction with the CNs. In the composite material, the hybrid is uniformly dispersed in the rubber matrix under the influence of its own many factors, thereby improving the cross‐linking effect of the composite material. Compared with the ZnO/NR composite, the modulus at 100%, 200%, and 300% elongation of NR composites are increased by 40.3%, 30.6%, 23.3%, and 9.6% respectively, maintaining the elongation at break of the composites. At the same time, the rigidity of the composite material is increased, the cross‐linking efficiency is improved, and the crosslinking density of the composite material is greatly improved. Compared with ZnO^C/NR composite, CNs@ZnO/NR composite maintained better wet‐skid properties. The CNs in the CNs@ZnO can inhibit the agglomeration of ZnO nanoparticles, which can better improve the vulcanization rate and crosslinking density, and is an efficient vulcanization activator. This study provides a simple synthetic route for ZnO nanofillers for the preparation of high‐performance natural rubber composites.