Potential use of a novel composite zinc oxide as eco-friendly activator in Tire tread compound

The possibility of using a new grade of zinc oxide (ZnO), namely composite zinc oxide (C-ZnO) produced by coating ZnO on nano-calcium carbonate surface, as an eco-friendly activator in tire tread compound was investigated. After characterization of its basic properties, various amounts (2–6 phr) of C-ZnO were then added into tire tread compound and the rubber properties were investigated and compared with those of the compounds activated with the widely used active ZnO (A-ZnO). Results reveal that, regardless of ZnO grade, the increased ZnO content does not significantly influence both compound and vulcanizate properties including tire performance, indicating that 2 phr of ZnO content is sufficient to effectively activate the vulcanization reaction in this study. At any given ZnO content, C-ZnO shows similar levels of cure state, vulcanizate properties and tire performance to A-ZnO despite the fact that its actual ZnO content is approximately 40% lower than that of A-ZnO. Results reveal the potential use of C-ZnO as an eco-friendly activator for tire tread application without any sacrifice of tire performance.