THERMOREVERSIBLE CROSS-LINKING MALEIC ANHYDRIDE GRAFTED CHLOROBUTYL RUBBER WITH HYDROGEN BONDS (COMBINED WITH IONIC INTERACTIONS)

ABSTRACT Thermoreversible cross-linkingpolymers are designed based on reversible cross-linkingbonds. These bonds are able to reversibly dissociate and associate upon the input of external energy, such as heat or light. Reprocessibility is possible for this kind of material. The objective was to thermoreversibly cross-linkmaleic anhydride grafted chlorobutyl rubber (MAH-g-CIIR) via a reaction with octadecylamine, with an excess to obtain amide-salts, which form both hydrogen bonds and ionic interactions. X-ray diffraction experiments showed the presence of microphase-separated aggregates that acted as physical cross-linksfor both the MAH-g-CIIR precursor and amide-salts. The tensile properties were improved by converting MAH-g-CIIR to amide-salts, because of the combination of hydrogen bonding and ionic interactions. The cross-linkedmaterials could be repeatedly compression moldedat 155 °C into homogeneous films. The differential scanning calorimetry curves and Fourier transform infrared spectra indi...