Polybutadiene Unsaturation

Infrared spectroscopy is a very useful technique for the measurement of different types of unsaturation in polymers. Polybutadiene has the following structure  

Fraga [1] has also described an IR thin film area method for the analysis of styrene-butadiene copolymers. The integrated absorption area between 1515 and 1389 cm 6.6 and 7.2 pm) has been found to be essentially proportional to total 

IR [4-8] and pyrolysis-IR [9] methods have both been tried for determination of the composition of vulcanisates, but both methods have serious disadvantages. 

Various workers [10-12] used the aliphatic resonances (assuming Bernoullian statistics) to give indirect information on the relative abundance of the three base units. 

Carbon atom Resonance Triad assignment Chemical shift, ppm 

Its polymers can contain the following types of unsaturation trms 1,4 

Fraga [1] developed an IR-near-infrared method of analysis of carbon tetrachloride solutions of polybutadienes suitable for the evaluation of 5-l,4 at 5000-714.2 cm (2-14 pm), trans-, A at 9708 cm (10.3 pm) and vinyl at 9091 cm (11.0 pm). Only polybutadiene is required for calibration. The method is applicable to carbon 

---

C/s versus trans configuration on double bonds (e.g., polybutadiene, unsaturated polyester resins)... 

For dimers, many regioiosmeric configurations are possible. Polybutadiene unsaturation occurs in three forms trans-, , c/s-1,4 and vinyl-1,2 ... 

Greenspan EP, Reich MH (1965) Curable compositions comprising unsaturated polyester, epoxidized polybutadiene, unsaturated monomer and organic peroxide. US Patent 3217066... 

The principal mbbers, eg, natural, SBR, or polybutadiene, being unsaturated hydrocarbons, are subjected to sulfur vulcanization, and this process requires certain ingredients in the mbber compound, besides the sulfur, eg, accelerator, zinc oxide, and stearic acid. Accelerators are catalysts that accelerate the cross-linking reaction so that reaction time drops from many hours to perhaps 20—30 min at about 130°C. There are a large number of such accelerators, mainly organic compounds, but the most popular are of the thiol or disulfide type. Zinc oxide is required to activate the accelerator by forming zinc salts. Stearic acid, or another fatty acid, helps to solubilize the zinc compounds. 

This combination of monomers is unique in that the two are very different chemically, and in thek character in a polymer. Polybutadiene homopolymer has a low glass-transition temperature, remaining mbbery as low as —85° C, and is a very nonpolar substance with Htde resistance to hydrocarbon fluids such as oil or gasoline. Polyacrylonitrile, on the other hand, has a glass temperature of about 110°C, and is very polar and resistant to hydrocarbon fluids (see Acrylonitrile polymers). As a result, copolymerization of the two monomers at different ratios provides a wide choice of combinations of properties. In addition to providing the mbbery nature to the copolymer, butadiene also provides residual unsaturation, both in the main chain in the case of 1,4, or in a side chain in the case of 1,2 polymerization. This residual unsaturation is useful as a cure site for vulcanization by sulfur or by peroxides, but is also a weak point for chemical attack, such as oxidation, especially at elevated temperatures. As a result, all commercial NBR products contain small amounts ( 0.5-2.5%) of antioxidant to protect the polymer during its manufacture, storage, and use. 

The strueture of cis-1,4-polybutadiene is very similar to that of the natural rubber molecule. Both materials are unsaturated hydrocarbons but, whereas with the natural rubber molecule, the double bond is activated by the presence of a methyl... 

Whilst c /5-1,4-polybutadiene is a rubber, 1,2-polybutadiene is thermoplastic. Such a material is very similar in structure to polybut-l-ene except that the hydrocarbon side chain is unsaturated ... 

Other polymers used in the PSA industry include synthetic polyisoprenes and polybutadienes, styrene-butadiene rubbers, butadiene-acrylonitrile rubbers, polychloroprenes, and some polyisobutylenes. With the exception of pure polyisobutylenes, these polymer backbones retain some unsaturation, which makes them susceptible to oxidation and UV degradation. The rubbers require compounding with tackifiers and, if desired, plasticizers or oils to make them tacky. To improve performance and to make them more processible, diene-based polymers are typically compounded with additional stabilizers, chemical crosslinkers, and solvents for coating. Emulsion polymerized styrene butadiene rubbers (SBRs) are a common basis for PSA formulation [121]. The tackified SBR PSAs show improved cohesive strength as the Mooney viscosity and percent bound styrene in the rubber increases. The peel performance typically is best with 24—40% bound styrene in the rubber. To increase adhesion to polar surfaces, carboxylated SBRs have been used for PSA formulation. Blends of SBR and natural rubber are commonly used to improve long-term stability of the adhesives. 

The data of Table II indicate that the etch rates for CB and its "homologues"—TP, CO (or TO), and EPM—tend to increase monotonically with a decrease in vinylene (-CH=CH-) unsaturation. The elastomeric EPM was chosen instead of crystalline polyethylene as a model for the fully saturated CB to avoid a morphology factor in etch rates, as was observed with crystalline TB. The difference in etch rates for the partially crystalline TO and the elastomeric CO (ratio of about 1.2 1.0) is attributable more to a morphology difference between these polyoctenamers than to the difference in their cis/trans content. Cis/trans content had likewise no perceptible effect on etch rates in the vinyl-containing polybutadienes (see Table I) if there was a small effect, it was certainly masked by the dominant effect of the vinyl groups. 

The hydrogenation of unsaturated polymers and copolymers in the presence of a catalyst offers a potentially useful method for improving and optimizing the mechanical and chemical resistance properties of diene type polymers and copolymers. Several studies have been published describing results of physical and chemical testing of saturated diene polymers such as polybutadiene and nitrile-butadiene rubber (1-5). These reports indicate that one of the ways to overcome the weaknesses of diene polymers, especially nitrile-butadiene rubber vulcanizate, is by the hydrogenation of carbon-carbon double bonds without the transformation of other functional unsaturation such as nitrile or styrene. 

Block copolymers of polystyrene with rubbery polymers are made by polymerizing styrene in the presence of an unsaturated rubber such as 1,4 polybutadiene or polystyrene co-butadiene. Some of the growing polystyrene chains incorporate vinyl groups from the rubbers to create block copolymers of the type shown in Fig. 21.4. The combination of incompatible hard polystyrene blocks and soft rubber blocks creates a material in which the different molecular blocks segregate into discrete phases. The chemical composition and lengths of the block controls the phase morphology. When polystyrene dominates, the rubber particles form... 

We have considerable latitude when it comes to choosing the chemical composition of rubber toughened polystyrene. Suitable unsaturated rubbers include styrene-butadiene copolymers, cis 1,4 polybutadiene, and ethylene-propylene-diene copolymers. Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene is a more complex type of block copolymer. It is made by swelling polybutadiene with styrene and acrylonitrile, then initiating copolymerization. This typically takes place in an emulsion polymerization process. 

Polymerization Temperature. The stereoregularity of polybutadienes prepared with the BuLi-barium t-butoxide-hydroxide catalyst in toluene is exceedingly temperature dependent. Figure 6 compares the trans-1,4 dependence for polybutadiene prepared with BuLi, alone, and with the BuLi-barium t-butoxide-hydroxide complex in toluene (the molar ratio of the initial butadiene to BuLi concentration was 500). The upper curve demonstrates that the percent trans content increased rapidly from 627. to 807. trans-1,4 as the temperature decreased from 75°C to 22°C. From 22°C to 5°C, the microstructure does not change. The increase in trans-1,4 content occurred with a decrease in cis-1,4 content, the amount of vinyl unsaturation remaining at 5-87.. For the polybutadienes prepared using BuLi alone, there is only a very slight increase in the trans-1,4 content as the polymerization temperature is decreased. 

Butadiene and isoprene have two double bonds, and they polymerize to polymers with one double bond per monomeric unit. Hence, these polymers have a high degree of unsaturation. Natural rubber is a linear cis-polyisoprene from 1,4-addition. The corresponding trans structure is that of gutta-percha. Synthetic polybutadienes and polyisoprenes and their copolymers usually contain numerous short-chain side branches, resulting from 1,2-additions during the polymerization. Polymers and copolymers of butadiene and isoprene as well as copolymers of butadiene with styrene (GR-S or Buna-S) and copolymers of butadiene with acrylonitrile (GR-N, Buna-N or Perbunan) have been found to cross-link under irradiation. 

---