Rubber networks containing unattached macromolecules. II. Viscoelastic properties in small strains of the system ethylene–propylene terpolymer with ethylene–propylene copolymer

Mixtures of crosslinkable ethylene–propylene terpolymer with saturated ethylene–propylene copolymer (molecular weights 3.6, 16.7, and 45 × 10⁴) containing up to 50% by weight of copolymer were crosslinked by sulfur, leaving the saturated copolymer unattached and free to reptate in the terpolymer network. Stress relaxation in small simple elongations (stretch ratio about 1.15) and dynamic Young's modulus at frequencies from 3.5 to 110 Hz were measured at temperatures from 10 to 50°C. Comparison with the properties of the terpolymer crosslinked without added copolymer showed contributions to stress relaxation and mechanical loss attributable to the unattached species. The time required in stress relaxation for the portion of the modulus attributable to the unattached species to decay to half its plateau value, t_1/2, is approximately proportional to the 3.5 power of the molecular weight; t_1/2 appears to be slightly smaller for networks containing 50% than for those containing 25% unattached component.     

Rubber networks containing unattached macromolecules. III. Nonlinear stress relaxation in the system ethylene–propylene terpolymer with ethylene–propylene copolymer and behavior of extracted networks

Further stress relaxation experiments, mostly at 50°C, are reported on mixtures of crosslinkable ethylene–propylene terpolymer with saturated ethylene–propylene copolymer (molecular weights 3.6 and 45 × 10⁴) containing up to 50% by weight of copolymer, crosslinked by sulfur to leave the saturated copolymer unattached and free to reptate in the copolymer network. Stress relaxation was measured in small simple elongations (stretch ratio about 1.15) on samples which had been extracted to remove a large part of the unattached copolymer and dried. The relative increase in modulus at long times (10⁴ sec) increased with the proportion extracted; at short times (1 sec), extraction of the lower molecular weight copolymer increased the modulus to about the same extent but extraction of the higher molecular weight copolymer affected it very little. The relaxation modulus of the copolymer extracted from sample 50H (50% copolymer of high molecular weight), obtained by difference, agreed with that for the total copolymer except for a small difference probably attributable to molecular weight selectivity in the extraction. Stress relaxation was measured on sample 50H at six higher elongations up to a stretch ratio of 3. The dependence of stress on time and strain was consistent with an analysis based on the following assumptions: (a) linear additivity of the network and unattached copolymer contributions, (b) strain–time factorization of the stress contributions from the individual components, (c) a strain dependence for the unattached component corresponding to the presence of a Mooney–Rivlin C₂ term only, (d) a strain dependence for the network component which does not follow the Mooney–Rivlin equation but is dominated by a simple neo-Hookean term.     

Viscoelastic properties of 1,2-polybutadiene—comparison with natural rubber and other elastomers

Viscoelastic properties of uncrosslinked 1,2-polybutadiene (91.5% vinyl, 7.0% cis, 1.5% trans, number-average molecular weight 99,000) were studied by dynamic shear measurements between 0.15 and 600 cps (torsion pendulum and Fitzgerald transducer) and shear creep measurements over time periods up to 3.7 × 10⁴ sec., in the temperature rang from 5 to 50°C. More limited dynamic measurements were made on a sample of unvulcanized natural rubber with number-average molecular weight 350,000 at frequencies from 0.4 to 400 cps and temperatures from 13 to 48°C. All data were reduced to 25°C. by shift factors calculated from equations of the WLF form with the following coefficients: 1,2-polybutadiene, c₁ = 6.23, c₂ = 72.5; natural rubber, c₁ = 5.94, c₂ = 151.6. In the transition zone, the relative positions of the loss tangent curves on the logarithmic frequency scale for these and other rubbers (1,4-polybutadiene with 50% trans configuration; styrene–butadiene rubber with 23.5% styrene content; and polyisobutylene) provided relative measures of local segment mobility. At 25°C., these ranged over a factor of 3700 with 1,2-polybutadiene and polyisobutylene the lowest and 1,4-polybutadiene the highest. When the frequency scale of each rubber was reduced to a temperature 100°C. above its glass transition temperature, however, the loss tangent curves for all except polyisobutylene were nearly coincident; the latter still showed a lower mobility by a factor of about 1/800. The terminal relaxation time and steady-state compliance for the 1,2-polybutadiene calculated from the Rouse theory were larger than those observed experimentally. The level of compliance corresponding to the entanglement network of 1,2-polybutadiene, J_eN, was calculated by integration over the loss compliance, J″, to be 1.62 × 10^?7 cm.²/dyne; integration over G″ to obtain the corresponding modulus gave reasonable agreement. From such J_eN, values, the average number of chain atoms between entanglement points, jZ_e, was estimated as follows: 1,2-polybutadiene, 132; natural rubber, 360; 1,4-polybutadiene, 110; styrene–butadiene rubber, 186; polyisobutylene, 320. Values of jZ_e were also estimated from the minimum in the loss tangent and compared with those reported from the molecular weight dependence of viscosity. The three sources were in generally good agreement.     

Rubber networks containing unattached macromolecules. IV. Stress relaxation in end-linked polybutadiene with unattached styrene-butadiene copolymer

Stress relaxation has been studied in networks of dihydroxy-terminated polybutadiene (mostly cis:trans:vinyl = 34:40:26) crosslinked by triphenyl methane-4,4′,4″-triisocyanate and containing about 9.5% by weight of unattached linear random styrene-butadiene copolymer with various molecular weights (from 1.4 to 3.3 × 10⁵) and with styrene content and butadiene microstructure chosen to match the average solubility parameter of the end-linked network. Stress relaxation measurements were made also on networks containing no unattached species and containing 9.3% hydrocarbon oil, and on the various uncrosslinked linear polymers. The stretch ratio was 1.25 and the Young's relaxation modulus was calculated from the neo-Hookean stress-strain relation. For the uncrosslinked linear polymers, the relaxation modulus E₁₁(t) corresponds to a rather narrow distribution of relaxation times whose magnitudes were approximately proportional to the 3.4 power of viscosity-average or weight-average molecular weight; for one polymer, the time dependence agreed closely with the prediction of the Doi-Edwards theory modified for a small degree of molecular weight distribution. The disengagement times calculated from the Doi-Edwards theory as modified by Graessley appeared to be of the correct order of magnitude. The contribution of the unattached species in the networks E₁(t) was calculated by difference; after multiplication by (1?v)^?1, where v₂ is the volume fraction of network, and correction for the difference in monomeric friction coefficient associated with the difference in fractional free volume in the two environments, E₁(t) was compared with E₁₁(t) for each linear polymer. The relaxation was slower in the network than in the uncrosslinked polymer by about an order of magnitude, but the form of the relaxation modulus was similar in both environments except for two linear polymers for which the relaxation in the network became very much slower at long times. This behavior appeared to be correlated with a broader molecular weight distribution.     

Effects of polymer chain disentanglement on NMR properties. II. 13C magnetic relaxation in polystyrene

The transverse magnetic relaxation of ¹³C_α nuclei has been studied in concentrated solutions of polystyrene. The magnetic relaxation rate was measured as a function of molecular weight at several temperatures (313,318, and 323 K) and at several concentrations (0.53, 0.43, and 0.34 g/cm³). The spin-system response of these nuclei in natural abundance exhibits a characteristic evolution from pseudosolid properties to liquidlike one, induced by decreasing the molecular weight of polymer molecules. This evolution is analogous to that already observed in protons attached to polyisobutylene or polydimethylsiloxane chains; it is assumed to be induced by an increase of the disentanglement rate of polymer chains. The spin-system response may be considered as reflecting single-chain magnetic properties, because of the low concentration of ¹³CC_α nuclei, although all chains are in dynamic interaction with one another. The NMR disentanglement transition is interpreted in terms of a two-step motional averaging effect involving submolecules. A numerical analysis of NMR properties is given using a model of polymer chain relaxation based on a multiple-mode relaxation process, characterized by (i)a terminal relaxation time τ^v₁ depending upon M³, the molecular weight, and approximately proportional to the polymer concentration C (like the reptation time); (ii)a relaxation-time spectrum analogous to a Rouse spectrum; (iii)a terminal relaxation time τ^v₁ = 2.5 × 10^?2s for M = 2.5 × 10⁵, C = 0.53 g/cm³ in carbon tetrachloride at 313 K.     

Stress relaxation of monodisperse poly-α-methylstyrene

The viscoelastic properties of monodisperse poly-α-methylstyrenes of molecular weights of 4 × 10⁴ to 50 × 10⁴ were studied by the tensile stress-relaxation method. The relaxation-time spectra as well as the steady-flow viscosity, the steady-state compliance, the maximum relaxation time, and the modulus associated with the maximum relaxation time were determined. The molecular weight dependences of these quantities were compared with the theory of Rouse and Bueche as modified by Ferry, Landel, and Williams, as well as with data on other polymers reported in the literature.     

Effect of crosslink density on the creep behavior of natural rubber vulcanizates

Torsional creep measurements on four natural rubber vulcanizates, crosslinked to different degrees, were carried out in the temperature range from ?50 to 90°C. This investigation complements the studies on identical samples of the stress relaxation behavior by Chasset and Thirion and of the dynamic mechanical response by Ferry, Mancke, Maekawa, ōyanagi, and Dickie. The creep measurements reported are shown to be in agreement with the stress relaxation results. In addition to the usual temperature reduction, a superposed curve was obtained for the long time response using the apparent molecular weight between crosslinks, M_c, as a reduction variable. The variation in viscoelastic response with crosslink density is interpreted as a restrictive action of the chemical crosslinks on the transient entanglement network.     

Synthesis,characterization, and photopolymerization of (meth)acrylate-functional polyisobutylene macromers produced by cleavage/alkylation of butyl rubber

Linear, multi-functional polyisobutylene (PIB) macromers bearing pendent and terminal (meth)acrylate moieties were prepared via electrophilic cleavage/alkylation of butyl rubber in the presence of (3-bromopropoxy)benzene, followed by displacement of the resulting bromide moieties with potassium (meth)acrylate. Number average functionality (F_n) ranged from 2.8–7.9; functional equivalent weights ranged from 2.3–4.7 kg/mol. For comparison, a three-arm, end-functional PIB triacrylate with equivalent weight of 3.3 kg/mol was also synthesized via living polymerization and end quenching with 4-phenoxy-1-butyl acrylate. All polymers were photocured using Darocur 1173 photoinitiator, and curing kinetics were monitored by real time Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. All systems reached ~100% conversion by 1,800 s, but the linear macromers displayed slower curing rates compared to the PIB triacrylate. The curing rate of linear macromers increased as molecular weight decreased. Cured networks were characterized using dynamic mechanical analysis and tensile testing. Tensile strength varied from 0.15–0.80 MPa. Young's modulus varied from 0.13–1.8 MPa. Strain at break for most networks ranged from 34–54%, but the network derived from the lowest molecular weight PIB reached 113% at failure. Percent extractables, measured using solvent extraction, was about 2% for linear macromers and about 4% for PIB triacrylate.     

Viscoelastic properties of polybutadienes—linear and lightly crosslinked near the gel point

Viscoelastic properties of four linear and three very lightly crosslinked polybutadienes (microstructure about 50% trans) were studied. Of the latter, two had not reached the gel point, and their molecular weight distributions were determined by sedimentation velocity analysis; the third was crosslinked just past the gel point, with only 32% gel fraction present. The crosslinking agent was sulfur. Complex shear compliances were measured over a frequency range from 0.1 to 1000 cps at temperatures from ?70 to 30°C. with a Fitzgerald transducer and a Plazek torsion pendulum; and torsional creep measurements were made over time periods up to about three days. The creep data were converted to the corresponding dynamic viscoelastic functions at very low frequencies by conventional approximation methods. All data were reduced to 25°C. by shift factors calculated from a previously adopted equation of the WLF form. In the transition zone, the viscoelastic properties of linear samples were almost independent of molecular weight. The entanglement spacing, derived from the minimum in the loss tangent and the inflection in the storage compliance, was 130 to 160 chain atoms. The maximum in the retardation spectrum attributable to motions of individual network strands was closely similar to the corresponding maxima for more highly crosslinked vulcanizates previously studied, showing that even in the latter it is associated with entanglement network strands rather than strands between chemical crosslinks. For a linear sample with molecular weight 180,000, the retardation processes disappear at times beyond about 10 sec. at 25°C. With crosslinking short of the gel point (i.e., branching) the slow retardation processes are enormously increased and prolonged to longer times. With further crosslinking through the gel point and beyond, the slow retardation processes decrease progressively in magnitude. Qualitatively, this behavior resembles the sharp maximum in content of highly branched and aggregated molecular species which is predicted at the gel point by crosslinking statistics; but the slow processes (or low-frequency losses) persist farther past the gel point than would be expected on this basis. The steady-state compliances of the linear samples were smaller, but for a sample crosslinked short of the gel point were much larger, than the prediction of the Rouse theory modified for molecular weight distribution.     

Viscoelastic properties and flow of narrow distribution polybutadienes and polyisoprenes

The dynamic shear modulus and the flow rate through capillaries under constant pressure and under constant velocity of the piston, have been measured for polybutadienes and polyisoprenes of narrow molecular weight distribution with molecular weights ranging, respectively, from 3.8 × 10⁴ to 5.8 × 10⁵ and from 1.06 × 10⁵ to 6.02 × 10⁵. The phenomena of the discontinuous increase of volume flow rate and self-oscillatory flow regime at critical rates of deformation have been considered in detail. It is proposed that these phenomena are due to the induced transition of the polymer from the fluid to the high-elastic state at higher deformation rates. As a result, an inference has been made that polybutadienes and polyisoprenes with a narrow molecular weight distribution in the high-elastic state, behave in certain respects as crosslinked polymers incapable of displaying fluidity. The quantitative relationships among the viscoelastic characteristics measured under dynamic regimes, the parameters determining the critical flow regimes, and the molecular weights of polybutadienes and polyisoprenes have been worked out.     

Functional polyisobutylenes via electrophilic cleavage/alkylation

Lewis‐acid catalyzed degradation of poly(isobutylene‐co‐isoprene) (butyl rubber) in the presence of an alkoxybenzene compound was studied as a new route toward low molecular weight multifunctional polyisobutylenes. Simultaneous cleavage and functionalization of butyl rubber was conducted at ?70 °C and ?40 °C under TiCl₄ or AlCl₃ catalysis in 60/40 hexane/methylene chloride cosolvents in the presence of (3‐bromopropoxy)benzene (BPB) for various times up to 24 h. The butyl rubber (EXXON? Butyl 365) possessed M _n = 1.91 × 10⁵ g/mol, PDI = 1.66 (GPC/MALLS), and 2.30 mol % isoprene units (nearly exclusively trans ?1,4). At ?70 °C with TiCl₄, molecular weight was reduced to various values within the range 7 to 11 × 10³ g/mol depending on conditions; lower BPB concentration produced lower molecular weight. However, the ratio of isobutylene repeat units to BPB units (IB/Q ) remained constant at about 43:1, which is approximately the same as the ratio of isobutylene to isoprene repeat units (IB/IP) in the starting butyl rubber (42.5:1). At ?40 °C with TiCl₄, molecular weight was reduced to about 5 × 10³ g/mol, and IB/Q was reduced below IB/IP, indicating nearly a difunctional telechelic structure. AlCl₃ was a more active catalyst and produced results similar to TiCl₄ at ?40 °C, even when used at seven times lower concentration. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017 , 55 , 1991–1997     

Viscoelastic properties of crosslinked solutions of poly(2-hydroxymethyl methacrylate) in diethylene glycol. VI. Comparison with poly(butyl methacrylate) and poly(butyl acrylate) networks crosslinked to very low degrees

On the basis of our own experimental and some literature data, the contributions of slow relaxation mechanisms to the shear modulus, (G_eN — G_e), and the parameter C₂ of the Mooney-Rivlin equation have been examined for lightly crosslinked poly(butyl methacrylate), poly(butyl acrylate), poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate), and some rubber networks. For the rubbers, increasing degree of crosslinking caused a decrease in G_eN — G_e and an increase in C₂; for the other networks, both G_eN — G_e and C₂ diminished with increasing crosslinking. The effectiveness of the crosslinking polymerization, and also the absolute values of the physical crosslinking degree, decreased in the order of poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate), poly(butyl methacrylate), and poly(butyl acrylate). The values of the equilibrium compliances J of the networks studied, obtained by various methods, have also been compared, and good agreement has been found.     

Measurements of the relaxation spectra of unplasticized poly(vinyl chloride) melts

We have measured the relaxation modulus in the temperature range 150–220°C of two samples of poly(vinyl chloride) resin with different molecular weights. The data were treated by the principle of reduced variables to yield composite curves. The shift factors (a_T) when plotted against reciprocal temperature gave good straight lines from which apparent activation energies were obtained. An apparent activation energy of 50 kcal/mole was obtained for both samples. A relaxation spectrum for each resin was calculated from the relaxation modulus data. These spectra showed a marked molecular weight dependence. The spectra were in the range characteristic of the terminal zone of the entanglement plateau. Zero-shear-rate viscosities were obtained from the integration of relaxation modulus plots. From extrapolation of capillary viscosity data it is shown that the viscosity of the higher molecular weight resin used in this study does not approach its zero-shear value until shear rates less than 10^?3 sec^?1 are reached. The effect of supermolecular flow units is briefly discussed.     

Optical anisotropy of polyisobutylene: Strain birefringence

Strain birefringence measurements on crosslinked polyisobutylene (butyl rubber) confirm earlier work of Stein and Tobolsky on the linear polymer indicating the optical anisotropy to be much greater than should have been expected from the structural symmetry of the polyisobutylene (PIB) chain. The configuration–optical anisotropy parameter Δa for PIB at 25°C is 4.1(±0.1) × 10^?24 cm³, or about half the value for crosslinked polymethylene, both polymers being undiluted and amorphous. Swelling with cyclohexane, CCl₄, and CBrCl₃ lowers Δa to values of 3.8, 3.4, and 2.8 × 10^?24 cm³, respectively. Contributions from intermolecular correlations in the bulk polymer and from form anisotropy in the diluted systems are small, if not negligible. Temperature coefficients measured isometrically yield d In Δa/dT ≈ 0.2 × 10^?3 deg^?1. Both Δa and its temperature coefficient are much greater than calculated from rotational isomeric state theory assuming additivity of bond polarizabilities. The disparity (more than tenfold for Δa) cannot be relieved by any rational adjustment of the structural parameters. It is suggested that the severe crowding of groups in the PIB chain may affect the anisotropies of group polarizabilities.     

Polymerizability,copolymerizability, and properties of cyanoacrylate‐telechelic polyisobutylenes I: three‐arm star cyanoacrylate‐telechelic polyisobutylene

This series of papers concern new materials for possible biological applications created by combining the chemistry of highly reactive cyanoacrylates (CAs) with polyisobutylene (PIB) rubbers. First, a new strategy for the synthesis of CA–telechelic PIBs is described. Subsequently, the strategy is employed for the synthesis of low viscosity (syringible) CA–telechelic three‐arm star PIB [Ø(PIB–CA)₃]. The intermediates of the synthesis route are characterized by ¹H NMR spectroscopy. Injecting liquid Ø(PIB–CA)₃ into living tissue (fresh chicken egg) produces a bolus of crosslinked PIB rubber. The spectacular oxidative resistance of this rubber is documented by its resistance to concentrated HNO₃. A structural model of the crosslinked rubber obtained upon contacting Ø(PIB–CA)₃ with proteinaceous tissue is proposed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Chemical modification of butyl rubber. I. Synthesis and properties of poly(ethylene oxide)-grafted butyl rubber

A new amphiphilic polymer, i.e., poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)-grafted butyl rubber (IIR-g-PEO), was synthesized by chemical modification of chlorinated butyl rubber (CIIR). This synthesis was based on the reaction between chlorine in CIIR and potassium salt of polyethylene glycol monomethyl ether (PEGM). PEGM's with molecular weights of 750 and 2000 were used. The maximum grafting percent of the resulted copolymers after the purification was ca. 45%, regardless of the molecular weight of PEGM. The microphase separated structure was observed in the films of IIR-g-PEOs. IIR-g-PEO, whose PEO molecular weight was 2000 and whose PEO content was 23.8 wt %, swelled 3.1% in water, and it was six times larger than the swelling of CIIR. The hydrophilicity of grafted polymers depended on the molecular weight of PEO side chains and PEO content. Even when the PEO contents were same in the polymers which were grafted PEGM-750 and PEGM-2000, their swellings in organic solvents were not equal. It was due to the difference of the microphase-separated structures of the grafted polymers. IIR-g-PEO, whose PEO molecular weight was 750 and whose PEO content was 10.3 wt %, swelled 1.5% in water, but showed an excellent emulsifying ability, where an oil-in-water-type emulsion was formed. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A new method for crosslinking and reinforcing acrylonitrile–butadiene rubber using a silanized silica nanofiller

Using a high loading of synthetic precipitated amorphous white silica nanofiller, an acrylonitrile–butadiene rubber containing 26% by weight acrylonitrile was crosslinked and its mechanical properties were measured. The silica surfaces were pre‐treated with bis(3‐triethoxysilylpropyl)tetrasulfide (TESPT) to chemically adhere silica to the rubber. To optimize the reaction between the tetrasulfane groups of TESPT and the rubber, accelerator and activator were added. The rubber was fully crosslinked and the hardness, tensile strength, stored energy density at break, elongation at break, tearing energy, and modulus increased substantially because of the filler. The bound rubber, crosslink density, tan δ, and glass transition temperature measurements indicated a strong interaction between the filler and rubber. This new method helped to substantially reduce the use of the curing chemicals and produce a safer and more cost‐effective rubber compound without compromising the good mechanical properties of the rubber, which are essential for long service life. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Elastoviscous properties of polyisobutylene. IV. Relaxation time spectrum and calculation of bulk viscosity

The elastoviscous behavior of polyisobutylene may be interpreted in terms of a mechanical model consisting of a distribution of Maxwell elements connected in parallel. The structure of this “generalized Maxwell model” is specified by the distribution of relaxation times of the component elements. The relaxation of stress curve of the material is directly related to the distribution of relaxation times, and general expressions for the bulk viscosities (tensile and shear) of such a system in terms of the distribution of relaxation times are readily obtained. A simple “box distribution” of relaxation times is described which can be used to approximate the relaxation behavior of polyisobutylene at the long-time end of the relaxation time spectrum, and in terms of which the expressions for bulk viscosity reduce to very simple form. The parameters specifying this distribution may be determined from experimental relaxation curves by a simple graphical method. Values of these parameters as a functions of molecular weight and temperature are computed, by use of these data. It is shown that bulk viscosity values calculated from relaxation data by this method are in good agreement with experimental values for both tensile and shear deformations, and for both unfractionated and fractionated polymers. Measurements of viscosity and of relaxation of stress can thus be directly correlated, and could be used in combination to characterize elastoviscous properties over wide ranges of molecular weight and temperature.     

The role of molecular diffusion in the adhesion of elastomers

Butyl rubber (polyisobutylene-co-isoprene) mixed with polyisobutylene was crosslinked to yield elastomeric macromolecular networks containing dissolved linear macromolecules. Adhesion of these materials to themselves (self-adhesion) and to an inert substrate was investigated over a wide range of peel rates and test temperatures. Greatly enhanced self-adhesion was found when linear polyisobutylene molecules of high molecular weight were present, but the strength of adhesion to a rigid inert substrate was hardly affected. The enhancement of self-adhesion is attributed to interdiffusion of polyisobutylene molecules. It was greatest at intermediate peel rates and temperatures, becoming insignificant at extremely low rates, probably because the diffusing species can then migrate readily, and at high effective rates of peel when the polymer approaches the glassy state and the strength of adhesion is high in all cases. A transition to somewhat lower levels of adhesion at relatively high rates of peel is tentatively ascribed to the onset of molecular fracture in place of pullout. The presence of large amounts of low-molecular-weight polyisobutylene (M?_v = 50,000 g/mol) increased the level of self-adhesion and of adhesion to an inert substrate to a similar degree, over a broad range of peel rates. This effect is attributed primarily to enhanced viscous losses in the elastomeric layer during separation. Application of these results to crack and weld-line healing in glassy plastics is discussed.