Role of epoxidized natural Eucommia ulmoides gum in modifying the interface of styrene‐butadiene rubber/silica composites

Abstract

Eucommia ulmoides gum (EUG) is a renewable and sustainable polymer, which could be used as rubber or plastic by altering its crosslinking density while the complicated extracting process and nonpolar molecular chains limited its application. In this effort, a novel extraction method was introduced, which could simplify the extraction process of EUG. Then, the extracted EUG-chloroform (CHCl 3 ) solution was directly used to prepare epoxidized EUG (EEUG) with an epoxy degree of 40.0% to improve its polarity. The epoxidized natural EUG exhibiting both polar and nonpolar motives had an advantage in working as an interfacial compatibilizer for polymer composites, especially bio-based composites due to its inherent biocompatibility. Accordingly, the role of EEUG in modifying the interface of styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR)/silica composites were explored. The results showed that EEUG in SBR/silica composites acted not only as a compatibilizer but also as a constructure generating better mechanical properties than other compatibilizers, such as silane couplings, Si-69 and KH-550, and epoxidized natural rubber (ENR). The simplified extracting process and the epoxy modification of EUG would extend its application in rubber materials, medical materials, and biopolymer materials.

Multiple Intermolecular Interaction to Improve the Abrasion Resistance and Wet Skid Resistance of Eucommia Ulmoides Gum/Styrene Butadiene Rubber Composite

“…The synergy of EEUG and MTES makes SiO 2 produce the best dispersion and compatibility with the rubber matrix. Well-dispersed fillers further limit the mobility of the matrix molecular segments, and the abrasion between fillers and the internal friction loss of the rubber matrix molecular segments can be reduced [ 8 , 38 ]. Therefore, the MTES-SiO 2 /EEUG/EUG/SBR composite had the lowest loss factor.…”

“…EEUG has been used as a compatibilizer in filled systems. Wang [ 38 ] modified silica with a macromolecular modifier (EEUG) and added it to SBR. The dispersion of modified silica was better, the wear resistance of the compound was improved, and the wear volume decreased from 0.192 cm 3 to 0.179 cm 3 .…”

A novel material based on deep eutectic solvents and its application in in‐situ modified silica‐reinforced styrene‐butadiene rubber

“…It is known that the loss factor (tan δ) at 0 and 60 C at 10 Hz are common pointers for the wet-skid resistance and rolling resisting force of the tread compound, respectively. 2 And to obtain high-performance tire tread, the compound should exhibit a high tan δ at 0 C to get high wet-skid resistance; also, they should have a low tan δ at 60 C to reduce rolling resistance. In Figure 8, we could see the tan δ values at 0 and 60 C of SBR compounds recorded by DMA.…”

“…1 Yet, the agglomeration of silica derives from the silanol groups on the silica surface, resulting in poor dispersity of silica in the rubber matrix. 2 So, improving silica dispersity in rubber compounds is the critical point to enhance the properties of compounds. Great efforts are developed to improve silica surface properties to improve the dispersity of silica in the rubber compound, including silane coupling agents (bis(3-triethoxysilypropyl)-tetrasulfide [TESPT]), 3 physically wrapping silica, 4 treating silica by ionizing radiation 5 or chemical reaction, 6 and macromolecular functionalization.…”

A high toughness elastomer based on naturalEucommia ulmoidesgum

“…For example, the vulcanization of EUG is carried out at a relatively high temperature using special formulation and stringent processing conditions, which prevents EUG from being used in large-scale owing to the high cost. Subsequently, chemical modification methods such as epoxidation, [36][37][38][39] grafting [40][41][42][43] were used to prepare EUG based elastomers. Our research group successfully prepared EUG based elastomers by using epoxy ring-opening reaction 44 and cyclization 45 modification methods, and applied them to self-healing, damping materials fields.…”