ABSTRACT
A wide range of fillers are used in the industry, they differ from each other chemically and in particle size and shape as well. One of the most common fillers, not only for elastomers but also for other polymers for certain applications, is carbon
1 INTRODUCTION
Elastomeric composites are widely used for industrial applications (e.g. car tires or food packaging) and biomedical engineering due to their outstanding mechanical and physical properties, when compared to pure or conventional microcomposites. The improvement of these composites’ mechanical properties is known to be intimately
black. The basic units constituting the carbon black, which are spherical, chemically bond to form aggregated structures which result in quite complex and geometrically different 3D objects. The particular shape of the filler determines the reinforcing ability, and therefore, the composite’s final properties depend on the morphology of the carbon black aggregates, although the mechanisms responsible for these effects are still under discussion (Kohls & Beaucage 2002, Fukahori 2003). Hence, filler characterisation is essential in order to state the relationship between the morphological characteristics of the fillers and their reinforcement effect in the polymer (ASTM D3849-07).
