Synthesis and properties of butadiene-alpha-methylstyrene thermoplastic elastomer

Butadiene-α-methylstyrene block – copolymer – a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE-R DMST) occupies a special place among the ethylene – vinyl aromatic block copolymers. TPE-R DMST comprising as plastic – poly-α-methylstyrene unit and elastic – polybutadiene block. TPE-R DMST has high heat resistance, flexibility, abrasion resistance compared to butadiene-styrene thermoplastic elastomer (TPE DST). The synthesis of block copolymers of butadiene and α-methylstyrene was carried out. The process of polymerization the α-methylstyrene characterized the high speed of polymerization in polar medium and low reaction speed in hydrocarbon solvents. Anionic catalyst nbutyllithium (n-BuLi) and high concentration – 60–80% α-methylstyrene in the mixture influenced by synthesis of the 1st block of TPE-R DMST, it’s technologically difficult. Found that the low temperature of polymerization α-methylstyrene (+61 o C), the reversibility of these reactions and the high concentration of residual monomer are very importance. It was revealed that a high polymerization rate α-methylstyrene can be achieved by conducting the reaction in a hydrocarbon solvent with polar additives compounds such as tetrahydrofuran (THF) and methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE). The conditions for the synthesis of P-DMST were developed. The kinetics of polymerization for the first DMST-P unit was obtained. Analysis of physical and mechanical properties DMST-P samples was conducted. The optimum content of bound α-methylstyrene block copolymer provides a good combination of properties in a relatively wide temperature range. The tensile strength at normal and elevated temperatures, the hardness and the stiffness of the polymer increased by increasing the content of bound α-methylstyrene. The elongation and the elasticity reduced by increasing the content of bound α-methylstyrene.