Construction of a thermoreversible chemical crosslinking network – a new exploration for the efficient reusability of commercial rubber

Abstract

A strategy for the preparation of a type of a thermoreversible styrene–butadiene rubber (SBR) by the conventional rubber processing technology was demonstrated as a potential solution for the severe environmental burden caused by abandoned commercial sulfur-crosslinked rubber. In this study, a nitroxide-based crosslinker was synthesized and directly mixed with SBR to prepare a thermoreversible rubber. Nitroxides in DTEMPO reacted with the carbon–carbon double bonds in SBR to form alkoxyamine crosslinking structures. The sample exhibited impressive tensile properties and a reprocessing ratio of greater than 95%, corresponding to the cleavage and radical recombination of alkoxyamine bonds.