Optical characteristics of butyl rubber loaded with general purpose furnace (GPF) carbon black

Optical characteristics of butyl rubber/GPF carbon black (BR/GPFCB) composites with carbon black (CB) concentrations 40, 60, 80 and 100 phr (part per hundred part of rubber) were investigated. The structure of the BR/GPFCB composites was analyzed by x-ray diffraction (XRD). All samples with various CB showed diffraction peaks around 2 theta = 14 degrees, 25 degrees and 44 degrees which correspond to interlayer spacing of 6.23 angstrom, 3.62 angstrom and 2.10 angstrom respectively. The peaks were shifted toward larger 2 theta angles with increasing CB concentration, indicating a decrease in layer spacing. Ultraviolet and visible (UV-vis) absorbance spectra in the range from 200 nm to 800 nm of the BR/GPFCB composites were studied. In the UV range of the spectra, an absorption edge was recorded. Direct and indirect optical band gaps for the composites were evaluated. The direct band gap values were found-as shown to be slightly greater than that of the indirect ones. The reflectance spectra in the UV optical range were demonstrated. Most of the incident UV light was absorbed inside the composites while a very small fraction was reflected and transmitted. This was attributed to the high UV absorption property of the CB filler. The refractive index of the composite was calculated from the reflectance data. The dependence of the real and imaginary parts of the complex dielectric constant on the incident light energy was characterized. The dielectric loss factor was found to decrease with increasing incident photon energy until approximately 5.5 eV (around the absorption edge) and then it increased rapidly.