Abstract: A silica reinforced solventless adhesive composition or cushion comprises a blend of rubber, silica, a silica coupling agent, an optional tackifier, and low or nil amounts of carbon black. The elastomeric adhesive composition can be utilized with various other rubber layers to adhere a cured or uncured tire tread to a cured tire casing. The elastomeric adhesive composition has good blowout resistance and a very low, final blowout test temperature.

Abstract: This invention relates to curable rubber compositions containing a fullerene form of carbon which is used as a reinforcing agent in the rubber compositions, the fullerene form of carbon being used in place of at least a portion of, or in addition to, the normally used forms of carbon black reinforcement additives. The invention particularly relates to tires having treads composed of such rubber composition(s). The fullerenes may optionally have surface modifications such as partial or complete hydrogen or functional group substitution. The fullerene form of non-conventional carbon reinforcement of rubber composition(s) may exist as discrete particles, aggregates of particles and/or agglomerates. The carbon fullerene has a lower specific gravity than conventional carbon black, thereby allowing a reduced weight tire or other article made from the rubber compound(s) for comparable volumes of carbon black used.