Investigations into Morphology and Mechanical Properties of Epoxidized Polystyrene/Polybutadiene/Polystyrene (SBS) Triblock Copolymer

Abstract

An architecturally asymmetric polystyrene-block-polybutadiene-block-polystyrene (SBS) triblock copolymer possessing lamellar morphology was subjected to different degrees of epoxidation with performic acid generated in situ by the reaction between hydrogen peroxide and formic acid. The effect of the chemical modification on morphology and mechanical behaviour of the block copolymer was investigated by means of different techniques such as electron microscopy, Fourier transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, tensile testing and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). It was found that the microphase separation behaviour and hence the mechanical properties of the materials can be drastically altered via epoxidation of the diene block of the styrene/diene triblock copolymers.

Compatibility and Storage Stability of Asphalt Binder Modified by Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene (SBS) Graft Copolymer

“…Therefore, the mechanical properties and rheological behavior of conventional asphalt compositions were obviously improved [8][9][10] . However, there are amount of differences between SBS and asphalt in properties such as density, polarity and solubility parameters, which leads to phase separation from asphalt binder at high temperatures [11][12][13] , and the final performance of the pavement will be affected by the poor storage stability of the modified asphalt due to phase separation [14][15][16][17][18] . Therefore, it's important to improve the storage stability of SBS modified asphalt by promoting the compatibility of SBS and asphalt binder.…”