Morphological Evolution and Damping Properties of Dynamically Vulcanized Butyl Rubber/Polypropylene Thermoplastic Elastomers

Abstract

We successfully prepared butyl rubber (IIR)/polypropylene (PP) thermoplastic vulcanizate (IIR/PP-TPV) for shock-absorption devices by dynamic vulcanization (DV) using octyl-phenolic resin as a vulcanizing agent and studied the morphological evolution and properties during DV. We found that the damping temperature region of the IIR/PP-TPV broadened with the disappearance of the glass transition temperature (Tg) in the PP phase, which is ascribed to the improvement of compatibility between the IIR and PP with increasing DV time. As DV progresses, the size of the dispersed IIR particles and the PP crystalline phase decreases, leading to the formation of a sea–island morphology. After four cycles of recycling, the retention rates of tensile strength and elongation at break of the IIR/PP-TPV reached 88% and 86%, respectively. The size of the IIR-cross-linking particles in the IIR/PP-TPV becomes larger after melt recombination, and the continuous PP phase provides excellent recyclability. Significantly, the prepared IIR/PP-TPV exhibits excellent recyclability, high elasticity, and good damping property.

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“…IIR has large number of methyl groups on the macromolecular chain, and the internal friction between the molecular chains is considerable, while the damping encountered during the relaxation process is converted into internal consumption through the macromolecular chains. IIR has speci c damping effect near the glass transition temperature T g , where the macromolecular chain segments and the molecular chain hysteresis are free to move [9], [10].…”