Advanced carbons in rubber and synthetics

Carbon nanotubes and graphene are the primary in-scope carbons in rubber, used as functional fillers in tyre compounds, industrial rubber goods and seals. Carbon nanotubes improve electrical conductivity and mechanical performance at far lower loadings than carbon black, reaching an anti-static percolation network at about 1 to 3 parts per hundred rubber against 30 to 50 for carbon black, which suits fuel hoses, mining belts and electrostatic-discharge flooring. Carbon black remains the dominant filler by volume and is out of scope.

In tyres, carbon nanotubes and graphene nanoplatelets are added to tread and belt compounds as a hybrid filler alongside carbon black, improving abrasion resistance and cutting rolling resistance by a reported 5 to 15%, which lowers the carbon dioxide a tyre contributes over its life. Graphene nanoplatelets also reduce gas and liquid permeability in elastomer seals and fuel-system hoses. Short carbon fibre reinforces PTFE and rubber seals for high-pressure, high-temperature service in pumps and compressors.

These in-scope carbons are specialty additions: carbon nanotubes and graphene together make up under 5% of the rubber filler market by volume in 2024, though the share is growing. The total carbon nanotube market, dominated by multi-walled grades, was about $5.72 billion in 2025 and is forecast to grow at roughly 21.1% a year to 2031, while rubber is one end-use within the graphene composites segment that holds about 35% of the graphene market. The global synthetic rubber market they sit within is on the order of $40 to $50 billion.