This booklet reviews the chemistry of sulfur and vinyl funclionalized triethoxysilyl silanes and the reinforcement of silica-silane-filled rubber compounds. This review includes the reaction of the silane with the silica surface during mixing as well as the coupling reaction with the polymer under vulcanization conditions. These two reactions have certain consequences for the processing of such rubber compounds, e. g. temperature, time, mixing device type of silica and type of silane. Furthermore the formation of the silica-rubber network in the vulcanizate and the resulting rubber performance are discussed. The results give an indication for the optimal use of such silanes in different rubber applications and are the key for further compound optimization. Several model formulations are included.
