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Effect of interface on bulk polymer: control of glass transition temperature of rubber

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Abstract

In current paper, we demonstrated that molecular dynamics and glass transition of rubber can be controlled by constructing attractive interface between rubber matrix and fillers. Based on a combination of experiments and molecular simulations, it was revealed that interfacial segmental mobility was reduced and glass transition temperatures (Tgs) of epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) were significantly improved due to in situ polymerization of zinc dimethacrylate (ZDMA). During curing, ZDMA polymerizes in rubber matrix, resulting in the appearance of nanodispersion phases of poly-ZDMA (PZDMA). It was demonstrated that coordination interaction exists between epoxy groups and PZDMA in interfacial regions. Furthermore, using dynamic Monte Carlo simulations, it was observed that the interfacial regions that have highest content of epoxy groups exhibit lowest segmental mobility. Then, the increase of ZDMA content leads to the rise of the fraction of absorbed interfacial segments, and thus the Tgs of filled rubbers are improved.

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Acknowledgements

The financial supports from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21404050) are gratefully acknowledged. The Research Foundation of Jiangsu University (No. 14JDG059), the Jiangsu Planned Projects for Postdoctoral Research Funds (No. 1402019A), and the Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China (No. 2015 M580394) are also appreciated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Polymer Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu University, 301 Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang, 212013, China

    Ya Wei, Haitao Wu, Yongqiang Zhang, Zhouzhou Gu, Yong Liu, Rongjuan Liu, Zhiping Zhou & Yijing Nie

  2. School of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Ningbo Key Laboratory of Specialty Polymers, Ningbo University, Ningbo, 315211, China

    Gengsheng Weng & Xijuan Cao

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  1. Ya Wei
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  2. Haitao Wu
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  6. Zhouzhou Gu
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  7. Yong Liu
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  8. Rongjuan Liu
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  9. Zhiping Zhou
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  10. Yijing Nie
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Correspondence to Zhiping Zhou or Yijing Nie.

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Wei, Y., Wu, H., Weng, G. et al. Effect of interface on bulk polymer: control of glass transition temperature of rubber. J Polym Res 25, 173 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10965-018-1566-7

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