The swelling test was carried out in accordance to ISO
1817. The cured specimens with dimensions of
30 mm 5 mm 2 mm were weighed using an electrical
balance, then, immersed in toluene for 72 h at room temperature
(25 C) in a dark environment. After the conditioned
period, the swollen specimen was extracted and reweighed.
The specimens were then dried in an oven at
70 C until constant weight was obtained. The Lorenz and
Park equation [9] was applied in order to study the rubberfiller
interaction. The weight of toluene uptake per gram of
rubber hydrocarbon (Q) was ultimately calculated as per
Equations (1) and (2) below: