Sun, Q. G.; Ma, D. L.; Li, Y. F.; Wang, Q.; Wang, H. K.; Yang, Z. L.; Zhang, B. N.; Sun, Y. The effect of the microstructure of liquid polybutadiene on the properties of styrene-butadiene rubber. Polym. Bull. (in Chinese), 2026, 39(2), 280–286.
Sun, Q. G.; Ma, D. L.; Li, Y. F.; Wang, Q.; Wang, H. K.; Yang, Z. L.; Zhang, B. N.; Sun, Y. The effect of the microstructure of liquid polybutadiene on the properties of styrene-butadiene rubber. Polym. Bull. (in Chinese), 2026, 39(2), 280–286. DOI: 10.14028/j.cnki.1003-3726.2025.25.288.
The Effect of the Microstructure of Liquid Polybutadiene on the Properties of Styrene-butadiene Rubber
Systematically investigated the influence of molecular weight and microstructure of liquid polybutadiene (LPB) on the properties of styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR). The microstructure and molecular weight of LPB were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The performance of LPB as a processing aid was compared with that of treated distillate aromatic extract (TDAE) oil. The results showed that LPB effectively reduced Mooney viscosity and improved filler dispersion in compound
demonstrating excellent plasticizing ability. The incorporation of LPB prolonged scorch time and cure time of compounds. However
due to the consumption of curatives by LPB
the crosslink density of the vulcanizates containing LPB decreased
resulting in slightly lower tensile strength and modulus compared with the TDAE-based compound. By increasing the sulfur loading
the modulus and tensile strength of compounds containing LPB could be significantly improved. Compared with TDAE oil
LPB imparted superior abrasion resistance to the vulcanizates and reduced the tan
δ
at 60 ℃
indicating improved rolling resistance. On the other hand
LPB reduced the tan
δ
at 0 ℃
suggesting a potential decrease in wet skid resistance. Increasing the proportion of 1
2-units in LPB raised the tan
δ
at 0 ℃ without affecting the tan
δ
at 60 ℃
while increasing the crosslink density of compound containing LPB further decreased the tan
δ
at 60 ℃. Finally
within the molecular weight range of 3000–7000 g/mol
the variations in molecular weight and 1
2-unit content of LPB in vulcanizates containing LPB exhibited limited effects on processing performance
filler dispersion
curing characteristics
and abrasion resistance. These findings suggest that LPB is a reactive and environmentally friendly processing aid with signifi
cant potential to replace TDAE oil in green tire formulations.
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