Inverse Vulcanization Polymer-Modified Eucommia ulmoides Gum with Enhanced Shape Memory Capability and Sound Absorption Property

Abstract

Sulfur-rich polymers (SP) were prepared using styrene as a comonomer in inverse vulcanization with elemental sulfur and used as a vulcanizer for Eucommia ulmoides gum (EUG) modification to generate EUG-SP-x. The effects of SP on the vulcanization process and mechanical properties of EUG-SP-x were investigated. The results showed that the tensile strength and elongation at break increased gradually with the increase of SP from 4 to 8 phr, and EUG-SP-8 displayed a high tensile strength of 29.54 MPa, elongation at break of 573%, and a high toughness of 60.88 MJ m–3, superior to those of conventional vulcanization EUG (EUG-S-5.59 (CB)) and inverse vulcanization NR (NR-SP-8 (CB)). When the amount of SP was 10 phr, the crystallization property of EUG was greatly damaged, and EUG-SP-10 showed the stress–strain curve of elastomers. Dynamic mechanical analysis results showed that tanδ of EUG-SP-8 is 0.3 at −45 °C, 0.111 at 0 °C, and 0.014 at 60 °C, portending excellent low rolling resistance and potential application in green tires. Sound absorption properties and shape memory capabilities were also investigated. EUG-SP-xs displayed improved sound absorption property at room temperature and excellent shape memory capability with quick recovery at moderate temperatures.

Step‐growth Polymerization of Aziridines with Elemental Sulfur: Easy Access to Linear Polysulfides and Their Use as Recyclable Adhesives

“…Vinyl comonomers are then polymerized with the generated sulfur radicals to produce cross-linked polysulfide polymers. The resulting inverse vulcanized polymers have found applications in various areas, such as LiÀ S batteries, [9] IR imaging, [10] sound absorption, [11] and sorbents. [12] However, certain limitations in inverse vulcanization still limit the broader applications of the resulting polysulfides.…”

Preparation and Characterization of Body-Temperature-Responsive Thermoset Shape Memory Polyurethane for Medical Applications

“…Shape memory polymers (SMPs) have broad potential applications in aerospace [1], medicine and health [2][3][4], industrial control [5][6][7], surface engineering [8,9], self-healing [10], 3D printing [11][12][13][14][15][16], and other fields [17,18] because they can keep a temporary shape at room temperature and restore to their original shape when stimulated by the outside world [19][20][21][22][23][24]. SMPs are expected to replace traditional shape memory alloys and ceramics (SMAs and SMCs, respectively) in some fields and have become the most intensively studied shape memory materials [25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34]. Compared with other popular SMPs, such as polyolefin [35] and epoxy resin [36][37][38][39], shape memory polyurethane (SMPU) has wider applications in fields such as biomedicine and smart textiles because of its high degree of deformability, easy processing, adjustable thermal transition temperature, and biocompatibility [40].…”