A rubber composition for a tennis ball includes a base rubber and a filler having a degree of flatness DL of not less than 50, the degree of flatness DL being obtained by dividing an average particle diameter D.sub.50 (μm) of the filler by an average thickness T (μm) of the filler. An amount of the filler per 100 parts by weight of the base rubber is not less than 1 part by weight and not greater than 150 parts by weight. A gas permeability coefficient GPS and a loss tangent tan δS of the rubber composition and a gas permeability coefficient GPL and a loss tangent tan δL of a rubber composition obtained by replacing the filler with kaolin clay having a degree of flatness DL of 20 satisfy (1): GPL/GPS≥1.02 and (2): |tan δL−tan δS|≤0.03. A tennis ball 2 includes a core 4 formed using the rubber composition.

The present invention is directed to a rubber composition comprising 70 phr to 100 phr of at least one styrene butadiene rubber, 0 phr to 30 phr of at least one further diene-based rubber, from 40 phr to 200 phr of at least one filler, at least 5 phr of aluminum hydroxide, and at least 0.5 phr of a rosin based resin. Moreover, the present invention is directed to a tire comprising such a rubber composition.

The present invention is directed to a rubber composition comprising 70 phr to 100 phr of at least one styrene butadiene rubber, 0 phr to 30 phr of at least one further diene-based rubber, from 40 phr to 200 phr of at least one filler, at least 5 phr of aluminum hydroxide, and at least 0.5 phr of a rosin based resin. Moreover, the present invention is directed to a tire comprising such a rubber composition.

The present invention is directed to a rubber composition comprising: 70 phr to 100 phr of at least one styrene butadiene rubber, 0 phr to 30 phr of at least one further diene-based rubber, from 40 phr to 200 phr of at least one filler, at least 5 phr of aluminum hydroxide, and at least 10 phr of at least one hydrocarbon resin selected from one or more of DCPD resins, CPD resins, and C5 resins. Furthermore, the present invention is directed to a tire comprising such a rubber composition.

The present invention is directed to a rubber composition comprising: 70 phr to 100 phr of at least one styrene butadiene rubber, 0 phr to 30 phr of at least one further diene-based rubber, from 40 phr to 200 phr of at least one filler, at least 5 phr of aluminum hydroxide, and at least 10 phr of at least one hydrocarbon resin selected from one or more of DCPD resins, CPD resins, and C5 resins. Furthermore, the present invention is directed to a tire comprising such a rubber composition.

A method of producing a polymer composition is provided, including: kneading (A) a conjugated diene-based polymer that is a polymer of a conjugated diene compound or a copolymer of a conjugated diene compound and an aromatic vinyl compound, and is a reaction product between an active polymerization end and a compound represented by any one of the general formulae (1) to (3), and (B) a basic compound having an acid dissociation constant of 8.0 or more; and kneading a kneaded product from (A) and a crosslinking agent.

Provided is a method for preparing a modified filler. The method includes in sequence providing an acidified aqueous slurry of an untreated inorganic filler which has not been previously dried; an emulsifier material; and a hydrophobating agent having the following structural formula (I): (I) R.sub.a-M-X.sub.(4-a) wherein: R is C.sub.6 to C.sub.22 alkyl, M is silicon, titanium or zirconium, X is OR′ or N halogen, R′ is C.sub.1 to C.sub.4 alkyl, and a is 1; washing and/or filtering the acidified aqueous slurry to obtain a modified filler, and, optionally, drying the modified filler. Polymeric compositions and articles also are provided.

Provided is a method for preparing a modified filler. The method includes in sequence providing an acidified aqueous slurry of an untreated inorganic filler which has not been previously dried; an emulsifier material; and a hydrophobating agent having the following structural formula (I): (I) R.sub.a-M-X.sub.(4-a) wherein: R is C.sub.6 to C.sub.22 alkyl, M is silicon, titanium or zirconium, X is OR′ or N halogen, R′ is C.sub.1 to C.sub.4 alkyl, and a is 1; washing and/or filtering the acidified aqueous slurry to obtain a modified filler, and, optionally, drying the modified filler. Polymeric compositions and articles also are provided.

A vulcanizate prepared by a method comprising introducing an elastomer, a filler, and a polar polysulfide crosslinking agent to form a masterbatch and introducing a curative to the masterbatch to form a vulcanizable composition. Vulcanizing the composition to graft the polar group from the crosslinking agent onto an elastomer to increase the hydrophilicity of the composition.

A vulcanizate prepared by a method comprising introducing an elastomer, a filler, and a polar polysulfide crosslinking agent to form a masterbatch and introducing a curative to the masterbatch to form a vulcanizable composition. Vulcanizing the composition to graft the polar group from the crosslinking agent onto an elastomer to increase the hydrophilicity of the composition.