Unravelling the effect of healing conditions and vulcanizing additives on the healing performance of rubber networks

Self-healing rubbers have steadily been growing during the last decades. Various strategies have been studied to transform the vulcanized rubber into a reversible cross-linked network with multiple repair cycles. However, a detailed description on how the chemical constituents of a rubber formulatio...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Araujo-Morera, Javier, López-Manchado, Miguel A., Verdejo, Raquel, Hernández, Marianella
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:España
Recursos:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/273215
Acesso em linha:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/273215
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Vulcanization
Elastomer
Self-healing
Styrene-butadiene rubber
Sulfur
Descrição
Resumo:Self-healing rubbers have steadily been growing during the last decades. Various strategies have been studied to transform the vulcanized rubber into a reversible cross-linked network with multiple repair cycles. However, a detailed description on how the chemical constituents of a rubber formulation affect the healing properties of the vulcanizate is unknown and has not been reported until now. In this research, the individual effects of both the curing agent (sulfur and peroxide) and the activating complex (zinc oxide and stearic acid) have been assessed on the healing capability of a styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) compound. The analysis of different healing conditions revealed that pristine materials should be subjected to the same thermal treatment as the healed samples to obtain scientifically sound values of the healing efficiency. Results also showed that each component affected the healing at different time scales, with the activating complex being responsible for the initial physical healing stage. Meanwhile, sulfur would act at later stages as dynamic healing moiety, enabling disulfide exchange reactions. In conclusion, the mechanical recovery of a rubber network can be potentially tailored depending on the relation between the chemical components of the rubber formulation.