The present invention is directed to rubbery polymers, such as
polybutadiene rubber or styrene-butadiene rubber, that contain tin
coupling agents and provide desirable dispersion of carbon black in
rubber compounds, such as for use in tire treads. The tin coupling agents
are defined by the general formulas (I) (X.sub.3Sn).sub.2O or (II)
(X.sub.3Sn)O--(CH.sub.2).sub.n--O(X.sub.3Sn), wherein X is a halogen and
n is 1 to 20. A method of rubbery polymer synthesis, in one embodiment,
involves mixing anionically polymerizable conjugated diene monomers with
optional vinyl aromatic and an anionic-polymerization initiator, i.e., an
organolithium compound, to form a mixture of living polymers. A tin
coupling agent is added to the mixture of living polymers effecting
polymerization conditions to form the tin coupled rubbery polymer. Such
tin coupled rubbery polymers can be utilized in tire tread rubbers where
the rubbery polymers may provide desirable wear properties without
substantially sacrificing other performance characteristics.