Small-angle neutron scattering as a useful tool for green innovation materials

Yamaguchi, Daisuke; Noda, Yohei; Koizumi, Satoshi*; Yuasa, Takeshi*; Sone, Takuo*; Tominaga, Tetsuo*; Takenaka, Mikihito*; Amino, Naoya*

Using a combined ultra-small-angle and small-angle scattering methods with both of neutron and X-ray probes, we characterized hierarchical structures of silica and/or carbon black filler particles dispersed in solution polymerized poly(styrene-random-butadiene) rubber (SBR). Two types of SBR were employed for the preparation of filler/rubber compounds; one possesses a newly developed functionalized chain-end (f-SBR), which has an affinity for filler particles and the other is a conventional SBR (n-SBR) without any special interaction with fillers. Combined small-angle scattering measurements clarified that the average-size of aggregated fillers dispersed in f-SBR matrix is smaller than that dispersed in n-SBR matrix.