Studies on preparation and properties of vinyltriethoxysilane-grafted styrene-butadiene rubber

Graft polymerization of vinyltriethoxysilane (VTES) onto styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) was carried out in latex using benzoic peroxide (BPO) as an initiator. The concentration of VTES effecting on vulcanization characteristics, mechanical properties and thermal properties of VTES-grafted SBR (SBR-g-VTES) were investigated. The grafting of VTES onto SBR and its pre-crosslinking were confirmed by attenuated total teflectance-Fourier transform infrared reflectance and proton nuclear magnetic resonance. The mechanism of graft polymerization was studied. The results revealed that the minimum torque, optimum cure time, tensile strength, thermal decomposition temperature, and glass transition temperature (T_g) all increased with the increasing concentration of VTES. But the grafting efficiency of VTES, rate of vulcanization, and elongation at break of the SBR-g-VTES decreased.