Conclusion

Elastomer reinforcement manifests itself through a set of singular mechanical and rheological behaviors with important repercussions in terms of application and performance. These properties, required for a wide variety of modern elastomer-based products, depend on a large number of physico-chemical and structural parameters on several scales. Research carried out over more than sixty years has improved our knowledge of the vast majority of relationships between microscopic-scale mechanisms and the macroscopic properties of filled elastomers. The differences between carbon blacks and silicas in terms of reinforcing effect have thus been linked to the physico-chemistry of their surface, but also to their structure. A better understanding of the Payne and Mullins effects has enabled their control to be improved. Modifying the interactions between elastomer and filler is still of great interest...