Structure Analyses Of Rubber/Filler System Under Shear Flow By Using Time Resolved Usaxs Method

The changes in the dispersion of carbon black in liquid polyisoprene under shear flow with time have been investigated by time-resolved ultra small-angle X-ray scattering (USAXS) method. The analyses of USAXS profile immediately after the start of shear flow clarified that the aggregates of carbon black with a mean radius of gyration of 14 nm and surface fractal dimension of 2.5 form the fractal network structure with mass-fractal dimension of 2.9. After the application of the shear flow, the scattering intensity increases with time at the observed whole entire q region, and then the a shoulder appears at q = 0.005 nm(-1), indicating that the agglomerate is broken and becomes smaller by shear flow. The analysis by the Unified Guinier/Power-law approach yielded several characteristic parameters, such as the sizes of aggregate and agglomerate, mass-fractal dimension of agglomerate, and surface fractal dimension of the primary particle. While the mean radius of gyration of the agglomerate decreases with time, the mean radius of gyration of the aggregate, mass fractal dimension, and surface fractal dimension don't change with time, indicating that the aggregates peel off the surface of the agglomerate.