This work examines the molecular dynamics of carboxylated acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber crosslinked with zinc oxide modified silica particles. ZnO/SiO₂ with the wide range of ZnO concentrations were used as both a crosslinking agent and filler. A series of thermal measurements were applied to the characterization of the samples: differential scanning calorimetry, dynamical mechanical thermal analysis, and dielectric relaxation spectroscopy. A complementary experimental technique, which is equilibrium swelling in solvents, confirms the presence of ionic crosslinks, which are created between zinc ions and the functional carboxyl groups of the rubber, within the structure of the vulcanizates. These interactions influenced not only the affinity of the vulcanizates to solvents, but also their dynamic mechanical and dielectric properties. In these investigations, the influence of concentration of ZnO on the surface of the ZnO/SiO₂ on the properties of the vulcanizates are described.
Keywords: carboxylated acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber; composite; ionic crosslinks; molecular dynamics; zinc oxide modified silica.