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Cao K, Elliott S, Sirohey SA, Durrell N, Davidson G. Fast, Efficient, Catalyst-Free Epoxidation of Butyl Rubber Using Oxone/Acetone for Improved Filler Dispersion. ACS OMEGA 2024; 9:19601-19612. [PMID: 38708259 PMCID: PMC11064046 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.4c01360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2024] [Revised: 03/27/2024] [Accepted: 03/28/2024] [Indexed: 05/07/2024]
Abstract
Incorporation of a polar filler such as silica into a nonpolar rubber matrix is challenging and energy consuming due to their large difference in polarity. Epoxidation of carbon-carbon double bonds in unsaturated rubber, especially for rubber with low unsaturation such as butyl rubber, is an effective method to introduce polar functional groups to the rubber macromolecules for better filler dispersion. Although different epoxidation reagents including hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), peracid, and meta-chloroperoxybenzoic acid (mCPBA) have been previously reported, these reagents have different drawbacks. In this article, a metal-free epoxidation reagent, dimethyl dioxirane (DMDO), generated from acetone and Oxone is explored for efficient epoxidation of rubber with low unsaturation. The effects of the addition manner of the reactant Oxone and buffer sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) and reaction temperature on the epoxide formation are studied. Compared to peracid, a faster and more efficient epoxidation without the generation of a ring-opened product is achieved when DMDO is used as the epoxidation reagent. Furthermore, it is found that the epoxidation using DMDO is not sensitive to the water concentration in the rubber solution up to 20 wt %. The addition of quaternary ammonium salt as a phase transfer catalyst not only improves the conversion but also further increases the water tolerance to 25 wt %. The reaction conditions for preparation of epoxidized butyl rubber with different percentages of epoxide group are optimized by Design of Experiments (DoE). At the end, improved dispersion of silica in the matrix of epoxidized butyl rubber is achieved, as revealed by the rubber process analyzer (RPA) and atomic force microscopy (AFM).
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Cao
- Butyl
Product Innovation Group, ARLANXEO Canada
Inc, 999 Collip Circle, London, Ontario N6G 4X8, Canada
| | - Sarah Elliott
- Butyl
Product Innovation Group, ARLANXEO Canada
Inc, 999 Collip Circle, London, Ontario N6G 4X8, Canada
| | - Sofia A. Sirohey
- Butyl
Product Innovation Group, ARLANXEO Canada
Inc, 999 Collip Circle, London, Ontario N6G 4X8, Canada
- Department
of Chemistry, Western University, 1151 Richmond St, London, Ontario N6A 3K7, Canada
| | - Noah Durrell
- Butyl
Product Innovation Group, ARLANXEO Canada
Inc, 999 Collip Circle, London, Ontario N6G 4X8, Canada
- Department
of Chemistry, Western University, 1151 Richmond St, London, Ontario N6A 3K7, Canada
| | - Greg Davidson
- Butyl
Product Innovation Group, ARLANXEO Canada
Inc, 999 Collip Circle, London, Ontario N6G 4X8, Canada
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Ongwongsakul K, Rempel GL, Poompradub S, Hinchiranan N. Comparative behavior of in situsilica generation in saturated rubbers: EPDM and hydrogenated natural rubber. J Appl Polym Sci 2017. [DOI: 10.1002/app.44748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kitti Ongwongsakul
- Department of Chemical Technology Faculty of Science; Chulalongkorn University; Bangkok 10330 Thailand
| | - Garry L. Rempel
- Department of Chemical Engineering; University of Waterloo; Ontario N2L 3G1 Canada
| | - Sirilux Poompradub
- Department of Chemical Technology Faculty of Science; Chulalongkorn University; Bangkok 10330 Thailand
- Center of Excellence on Petrochemical and Materials Technology Chulalongkorn University; Bangkok 10330 Thailand
| | - Napida Hinchiranan
- Department of Chemical Technology Faculty of Science; Chulalongkorn University; Bangkok 10330 Thailand
- Center of Excellence on Petrochemical and Materials Technology Chulalongkorn University; Bangkok 10330 Thailand
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