Carbon blacks and silicas of varying forms and particlesizes are very popular and have been widely utilized as reinforcing fillers in the rubber industry. In general, the properties of silica-reinforced rubber vulcanisates are usually inferior to those of carbon blacks, even when they are of comparable size [1]. This is attributed to the apparent dissimilarity in the surface chemistry of the two materials. Carbon black will react with sulphur during vulcanization and form sulphur bonds that link the rubber chains, and also tie the carbon black to the rubber. This is known as filler-rubber crosslinking, another type of crosslink to the rubber system, and is defined as coupling bonds [2,3]. In marked contrast to the hydrocarbon functionality of carbon black, silica does not react with sulphur, and coupling bonds will not be formed due to its hydrophilic silanol
groups that are relatively incompatible with hydrocarbon rubbers, such as natural rubber