Dispersion and Characterization of Graphene in Elastomer Composite

Rubber is the name given to materials that can change in size when stretched and return to their original state when the deforming stress is removed. It is derived from the South American word 'caoutchouc' meaning 'weeping wood'. Originally, the word Rubber was used for the product obtained from a dense milky liquid called latex found in some plants (Ciesielski 1999). Rubbers are widely used in transportation, medicine, construction, and everyday life due to their excellent durability and flexibility. The most obvious usage area is the automotive industry where the tire and inner tire production takes place. The consumption of rubber, which is a product that human beings inevitably use in their daily life, is increasing day by day. While rubbers of natural origin were used in the beginning, synthetic rubbers began to be produced due to the increasing needs of the rapidly increasing world population, technological developments, and wars. Rubber manufacturing generally consists of three stages: (i) mixing (mills, internal mixing), (ii) forming, and (iii) vulcanizing (Mall, Zhang, and Geng 2010). A brief summary about the commonly used natural and synthetic rubbers is given in Tables 7.1 and 7.2.