Chain entangling, contribution equilibrium modulus

Since the excellent work of Moore and Watson (6, who cross-linked natural rubber with t-butylperoxide, most workers have assumed that physical cross-links contribute to the equilibrium elastic properties of cross-linked elastomers. This idea seems to be fully confirmed in work by Graessley and co-workers who used the Langley method on radiation cross-linked polybutadiene (.7) and ethylene-propylene copolymer (8) to study trapped entanglements. Two-network results on 1,2-polybutadiene (9.10) also indicate that the equilibrium elastic contribution from chain entangling at high degrees of cross-linking is quantitatively equal to the pseudoequilibrium rubber plateau modulus (1 1.) of the uncross-linked polymer. 

Ronca and Allegra (12) and Flory ( 1, 2) assume explicitly in their new rubber elasticity theory that trapped entanglements make no contribution to the equilibrium elastic modulus. It is proposed that chain entangling merely serves to suppress junction fluctuations at small deformations, thereby making the network deform affinely at small deformations. This means that the limiting value of the front factor is one for complete suppression of junction fluctuations. 

Figure 3. Modulus contributions from chemical cross-links (Cx, filled triangles) and from chain entangling (Gx, unfilled symbols) plotted against the extension ratio during cross-linking, A0, for 1,2-polybutadiene. Key O, GN, equibiaxial extension , G.v, pure shear A, Gx, simple extension Gx°, pseudo-equilibrium rubber plateau modulus for a polybutadiene with a similar microstructure. See Ref. 10.

The two-network method has been carefully examined. All the previous two-network results were obtained in simple extension for which the Gaussian composite network theory was found to be inadequate. Results obtained on composite networks of 1,2-polybutadiene for three different types of strain, namely equibiaxial extension, pure shear, and simple extension, are discussed in the present paper. The Gaussian composite network elastic free energy relation is found to be adequate in equibiaxial extension and possibly pure shear. Extrapolation to zero strain gives the same result for all three types of strain The contribution from chain entangling at elastic equilibrium is found to be approximately equal to the pseudo-equilibrium rubber plateau modulus and about three times larger than the contribution from chemical cross-links. 

A new stress-relaxation two-network method is used for a more direct measurement of the equilibrium elastic contribution of chain entangling in highly cross-linked 1,2-polybutadiene. The new method shows clearly, without the need of any theory, that the equilibrium contribution is equal to the non-equilibrium stress-relaxation modulus of the uncross-linked polymer immediately prior to cross-linking. The new method also directly confirms six of the eight assumptions required for the original two-network method. 

The extent to which entanglements contribute to network elasticity is not yet fully resolved. In the model of Langley [45], Dossin and Graessley [46-49] a contribution to the equilibrium modulus is associated with the plateau modulus of viscoelasticity. On the other hand, Flory [36] and Erman [38 0] assume that interpenetration of chains is solely reflected by suppression of the fluctuations of junctions. 

At very low speeds, the indentation probes primarily the response of the gel network and hence the measured hardness shows a strong dependence on the equilibrium modulus. Defects cause both the gel equilibrium modulus as well as the hardness to decrease. At fast measurement speeds, physical entanglements and viscous friction between polymer chains contribute substantially to the measured response. The measured hardness increases and becomes less dependent on the quality of the polymer network as quantified by the equilibrium modulus. 

The equilibrium shear modulus of two similar polyurethane elastomers is shown to depend on both the concentration of elastically active chains, vc, and topological interactions between such chains (trapped entanglements). The elastomers were carefully prepared in different ways from the same amounts of toluene-2,4-diisocyanate, a polypropylene oxide) (PPO) triol, a dihydroxy-terminated PPO, and a monohydroxy PPO in small amount. Provided the network junctions do not fluctuate significantly, the modulus of both elastomers can be expressed as c( 1 + ve/vc)RT, the average value of vth>c being 0.61. The quantity vc equals TeG ax/RT, where TeG ax is the contribution of the topological interactions to the modulus. Both vc and Te were calculated from the sol fraction and the initial formulation. Discussed briefly is the dependence of the ultimate tensile properties on extension rate. 

Since at long times pendant chains do not contribute to permanent elastic properties, the elastic equilibrium behavior of networks containing these chains should not differ substantially from that of regular networks. The elastic modulus from a network with pendant chains can then be obtained from the molecular theories of rubber elasticity provided that the concentration of elastically active network chains (v) can be calculated accurately. Depending on the different approaches that can be used for the rubber elasticity theory, the calculation of some other parameters, like the concentration of junctions points (p) and trapped entanglements (Te), also may be needed. 

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