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Synthesis and Application of Polybutadiene-g-Polypentafluorostyrene in Rubber

Wednesday, October 12, 2016: 11:15 AM
Rm 304-5 (David L. Lawrence Convention Center )
Coleen Pugh, PhD1, Nicole Swanson2, Prasad Raut3 and Sadhan C. Jana3, (1)Polymer Science, The University of Akron, Akron, OH, (2)Polymer Science, University of Akron, Akron, OH, (3)Polymer Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, OH
Perfluorinated aromatic rings (electron-deficient) interact with aromatic hydrocarbons (electron-rich) by pi-pi stacking interactions. Since many rubber fillers, such as carbon black and lignin, are based on electron-rich aromatic systems, coupling agents containing aromatic fluorocarbons may improve the interaction between these non-polar and polar fillers and the non-polar rubber matrix. Graft copolymers of polybutadiene grafted with poly(pentafluorostyrene) combine the non-polar polybutadiene backbone, typical of rubber matrices, with grafts containing multiple perfloroarene groups that are capable of interacting with typical fillers. This talk will present the synthesis of polybutadiene-graft-polypentafluorostyrene (PB-g-PPFS), including the effects of temperature, initiator concentration, and reaction time on the graft efficiency, graft frequency and graft ratio from benzyoyl peroxide-initiated polymerizations of pentafluorostyrene in the presence of polybutadiene. Arene-perfluoroarene interactions between electron-rich lignin and electron-deficient pentafluorostyrene (PFS) in PB-g-PPFS lead to improved strength and a reduction in the rolling resistance indicators. Applying the same concept to carbon black-filled rubber, the cure rate improved and the rolling resistance decreased by 13%.