Characterization of carbon silica hybrid fillers obtained by pyrolysis of waste green tires by the STEM–EDX method

•Dual phase fillers obtained by pyrolysis of waste green tires have been characterized.•The STEM–EDX method was used for characterization.•The phase distributions in the fillers are influenced by the pyrolysis conditions.

Dual phase carbon–silica hybrid fillers obtained by pyrolysis-cum-water vapor of waste green tires have been characterized by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy in a scanning transmission electron microscope, silicate analysis, weight analysis, atomic absorption spectroscopy and by inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectroscopy.The results achieved have shown that the location and distribution of the phases in the carbon silica hybrid fillers as well as their most essential characteristics are influenced by the pyrolysis conditions. The carbon phase of the filler thus obtained is located predominantly in the space among silica aggregates which have already been existing while it has been formed by elastomer destruction in the course of pyrolysis. The presence of ZnS also has been found in the hybrid fillers investigated.