Wire coat compositions for rubber articles

摘要

The present invention is based upon the finding that lignin can be incorporated into wire coat stock composition to improve metal to rubber adhesion. It has been further found that lignin can be used as a replacement in whole or in part for conventional rubber-to-metal adhesion promoters, such as cobalt materials which are conventionally used in wire coat stocks to attain and maintain needed rubber-to-wire adhesion properties. In fact, wire coat stocks that contain lignin provide more that adequate rubber-to-metal adhesion characteristics for typical applications, such as in tires, and maintain needed levels of adhesion over long periods of product service. The utilization of lignin in wire coat stock formulations in accordance with this invention is also economically advantageous since lignin is a low cost alternative to most conventional adhesion promoting agents. The present invention more specifically discloses a wire coat stock composition which comprises a rubbery polymer, 40 phr to 80 phr of carbon black, and 2 phr to 30 phr of lignin.