We successfully prepared butyl rubber (IIR)/polypropylene (PP) thermoplastic vulcanizate (IIR/PP-TPV) for shock-absorption devices by dynamic vulcanization (DV) using octyl-phenolic resin as a vulcanizing agent and studied the morphological evolution and properties during DV. We found that the damping temperature region of the IIR/PP-TPV broadened with the disappearance of the glass transition temperature (Tg) in the PP phase, which is ascribed to the improvement of compatibility between the IIR and PP with increasing DV time. As DV progresses, the size of the dispersed IIR particles and the PP crystalline phase decreases, leading to the formation of a sea–island morphology. After four cycles of recycling, the retention rates of tensile strength and elongation at break of the IIR/PP-TPV reached 88% and 86%, respectively. The size of the IIR-cross-linking particles in the IIR/PP-TPV becomes larger after melt recombination, and the continuous PP phase provides excellent recyclability. Significantly, the prepared IIR/PP-TPV exhibits excellent recyclability, high elasticity, and good damping property.

Hydrogenated natural rubber (HNR) was prepared by diimide reduction of natural rubber (NR) latex and characterized by FT‐IR, 1H NMR and TG‐DTG. The thermal degradation kinetic models of HNR were studied under a nitrogen atmosphere by TG‐DTG. Achar and Coats–Redfern methods were used to study the non‐isothermal kinetics models change during the thermal degradation process of NR after hydrogenation. The results indicated that HNR with 34.69% and 63.74% hydrogenation degree were prepared. A one‐stage pyrolysis pathway could be observed from all the TGA curves which were shifted to higher degradation temperatures with the rise of saturation degree. The similar activation energies obtained by both Coats–Redfern and Achar methods confirmed that the kinetics calculation was accurate. The results showed the best‐fit models of the samples with the highest regression coefficient values (R2 > 0.90) were chemical reaction models. The reaction order was three (N3) in NR case and the corresponding mechanism functions were g(α) = [(1‐α)−2–1]/2, f(α) = (1‐α)3. The reaction order was two (N2) when it came to HNR with hydrogenation degree of 34.69%. The most probable mechanism functions were g(α) = (1‐α)−1–1, f(α) = (1‐α)2. As the degree of hydrogenation increased to 63.74%, the reaction order best‐fit changed to one (N1) which was proved to be the same as the ethylene‐propylene diene rubber samples. And the mechanism functions were g(α) = −ln(1‐α), f(α) = 1‐α. The thermal degradation models of polymers was closely related to the structure. And the structure effects affected the degradation behavior as well as the thermal properties of polymers.