Tire with rubber component containing reinforcement comprised of precipitated silica and functionalized graphene

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9757983-B1
Application number	US-201615175397-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Jun 7, 2016
Priority date	Jun 7, 2016
Publication date	Sep 12, 2017
Grant date	Sep 12, 2017

Abstract

This invention relates to a tire having a rubber component, such as a tread. with filler reinforcement containing surface modified graphene and precipitated silica which may be or may include pre-hydrophobated precipitated silica.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A tire with a component of a rubber composition which comprises, based upon parts by weight per 100 parts by weight rubber (phr):
(A) 100 phr of at least one diene-based elastomer,
(B) rubber reinforcing filler as a combination of rubber reinforcing carbon black, precipitated silica and graphene comprised of:
(1) from about 0 to about 30 phr of rubber reinforcing carbon black,
(2) from about 25 to about 125 phr of precipitated silica, with silica coupler for said precipitated silica having a moiety reactive with hydroxyl groups on the precipitated silica and another, different, moiety interactive with said diene-based elastomer(s),
(3) about 0.5 to about 20 phr of graphene, treated with a phenylene ethynylene oligomer comprised of a conjugated hydrocarbon backbone and having a branched polysulfide moiety, wherein said oligomer is comprised of a compound of a chemical structure represented by at least one of Formula (1), (2) and (3):

wherein R is comprised of hydrocarbon, C n H 2n+1 ; where n is in the range of 4 to 16, x is in a range of 0 to 10, y is in a range of 0 to 10; and z is in a range of 1 to 3; wherein at least one of x and y is at least 1; wherein R′ is a cyclic six member saturated ring comprised of sulfur and carbon atoms which contains from 2 through 5 connecting sulfur atoms and from 1 through 4 carbon atoms.

2. The tire of claim 1 wherein said graphene has an average thickness in a range of from about 1 to about 20 nanometers (nm) and a L/D (lateral length over thickness) dimensional ratio in a range of from about 10 to about 1000.

3. The tire of claim 1 where, for the tread rubber composition, the said diene-based elastomer is comprised of at least one polymer of at least one monomer selected from isoprene and 1,3-butadiene and from styrene copolymerized with at least one of isoprene and 1,3-butadiene.

4. The tire of claim 2 where, for the tread rubber composition, the said diene-based elastomer is comprised of at least one polymer of at least one monomer selected from isoprene and 1,3-butadiene and from styrene copolymerized with at least one of isoprene and 1,3-butadiene.

5. The tire of claim 1 where, for the tread rubber composition, the diene-based rubber is natural cis 1,4-polyisoprene rubber.

6. The tire of claim 1 where, for the tread rubber composition, the diene-based rubber is natural cis 1,4-polyisoprene rubber together with at least one synthetic rubber.

7. The tire of claim 1 wherein, for said tread rubber composition, at least one of said diene-based elastomer(s) is least one of tin coupled organic solution polymerization prepared styrene/butadiene copolymers, isoprene/butadiene copolymers, styrene/isoprene copolymers, polybutadiene and styrene/isoprene/butadiene terpolymers.

8. The tire of claim 7 wherein, for said tread rubber composition, said tin coupled diene-based elastomer is an organic solution polymerization prepared styrene/butadiene copolymer.

9. The tire of claim 1 wherein, for said rubber composition, the diene-based elastomer contains at least one functional group reactive with hydroxyl groups on a precipitated silica wherein said functional group is comprised of at least one of siloxy, amine, imine and thiol groups.

10. The tire of claim 8 wherein said tin coupled butadiene/styrene rubber contains at least one functional group reactive with hydroxyl groups on a precipitated silica wherein said functional group is comprised of at least one of siloxy, amine, imine and thiol groups.

11. The tire of claim 1 wherein said precipitated silica and silica coupler are provided as a composite of precipitated silica pre-reacted with said silica coupler and where said silica coupler is comprised of at least one of bis(3-trialkoxysilylpropyl) polysulfide containing an average of from about 2 to about 4 connecting sulfur atoms in its polysulfidic bridge and alkoxyorganomercaptosilane.

12. The tire of claim 11 wherein said composite of pre-reacted precipitated silica is the product of precipitated silica and bis(3-triethoxysilylpropyl) polysulfide.

13. The tire of claim 11 wherein said composite of pre-reacted precipitated silica is the product of precipitated silica and alkoxyorganomercaptosilane.

14. The tire of claim 1 wherein precipitated silica is added to said rubber composition to react with said coupling agent in situ within the rubber composition.

15. The tire of claim 11 wherein precipitated silica is also added to said rubber composition to react with coupling agent in situ within the rubber composition.

16. The tire of claim 1 wherein said oligomer is comprised of the oligomer of Formula (1).

17. The tire of claim 1 wherein said oligomer is comprised of the oligomer of Formula (2).

18. The tire of claim 1 wherein said oligomer is comprised of the oligomer of Formula (3).

19. The tire of claim 1 wherein said component is a circumferential tread.

20. The tire of claim 10 wherein said component is a circumferential tread.

Assignees

• Goodyear Tire & Rubber

Inventors

• Du Ling
• Yang Xiaoping
• Pulford Carl Trevor Ross

Classifications

• B60C2011/0025

  Modulus or tan delta · CPC title

• B60C11/0008

  characterised by the tread rubber · CPC title

• C08L9/06

  Copolymers with styrene · CPC title

• B60C1/0016 Primary

  Compositions of the tread · CPC title

• C08L2205/02

  containing two or more polymers of the same C08L -group · CPC title