The vulcanization process is widely used in industry for tire manufacturing. Therefore, zinc oxide is commonly utilized as an activator material, but unreacted zinc oxide remains in the final products and can be released into the environment with a significant impact. To reduce the amount of required zinc and to prevent leaching from tire material, zinc single site-containing silica fillers are interesting candidates. In these materials, zinc sites are anchored on the surface of silica nanoparticles through their complexation with functionalized aminosilanes. Based on these, a novel powder sample is prepared via spray-drying. The obtained supraparticles allow for a homogeneous distribution of the filler nanoparticles in the rubber matrix via their disintegration during the incorporation process. All synthesis steps are carried out in ethanol and water, respectively, at very mild temperatures to account for sustainability demands. As core of this study, the role of zinc ions and their amino-complexation in nanoparticle dispersion stability and in supraparticle formation during spray-drying is elucidated. Additionally, the superior performance of supraparticles as activator in rubber vulcanization is demonstrated. These show a higher curing efficiency, leading to lower curing time (−70%), higher torque values (+15%), and improved dynamic mechanical properties compared to the conventional ZnO activator.

中文翻译：

---

将含锌单点二氧化硅纳米颗粒组装成具有可破坏性的超颗粒粉末，用作橡胶中的填料和硫化活化剂

硫化工艺广泛应用于轮胎制造工业中。因此，氧化锌通常用作活化剂材料，但未反应的氧化锌保留在最终产品中，并且可能释放到环境中，产生重大影响。为了减少所需的锌量并防止从轮胎材料中浸出，含锌单位点的二氧化硅填料是令人感兴趣的候选者。在这些材料中，锌位点通过与官能化氨基硅烷的络合固定在二氧化硅纳米粒子的表面上。在此基础上，通过喷雾干燥制备了新型粉末样品。所获得的超颗粒允许填料纳米颗粒通过在掺入过程中的崩解而均匀分布在橡胶基质中。所有合成步骤均分别在乙醇和水中在非常温和的温度下进行，以满足可持续性要求。作为这项研究的核心，阐明了锌离子及其氨基络合在纳米颗粒分散稳定性和喷雾干燥过程中超颗粒形成中的作用。此外，还证明了超颗粒作为橡胶硫化活化剂的优越性能。与传统的 ZnO 活化剂相比，它们表现出更高的固化效率，导致更短的固化时间 (−70%)、更高的扭矩值 (+15%) 和更高的动态机械性能。