Self-healing of Conductive Rubber Composites for Motorcycle Tire Treads

The present work is the preparation of bromobutyl rubber (BIIR) composites filled with carbon black (CB) and carbon nanotubes (CNT) in order to produce the self-repairing for motorcycle tire treads. The composites were prepared by using the combined techniques of internal mixer and two-roll mill for the best dispersion and distribution degrees of CB/CNT hybrid filler in BIIR matrix. In order to originate the self-healing, the BIIR was modified first with 1-butylimidazole (BIM) and ionic liquid (IL) before incorporation with fillers. It was found that the using of CB/CNT as the infinity filler pathway in BIIR can induce significantly the healing efficiency of the composites without any pressure. This is due to the supporting electron movement in the composites, causing easily chemical attracting of the cation and anion in BIM-grafted BIIR. Without pressure, the composites can heal perfect by using 80^oC for 15 min, while only 1 min was observed after applying the 10,000 pounds of pressure. This finding has widely useful for the repairing any broken rubber product, particularly the tire tread for motorcycle which needs rapid repairing with high mechanical, and dynamical properties. Also, with the conductive behaviour, the electron can move easily and increase efficiency of self-healing under heating. Therefore, under using of an ease process and cost-effectiveness ingredient, productivity of the technology can be applied well to the responding of industrial needs.