Coactivation of Delayed-Action Vulcanization. Part I. Polymeric, Nonmigratory Cure Coactivators for Accelerated Sulfur Vulcanization

Abstract

Abstract Rubbery vinylpyridine-butadiene copolymers, containing 20–65% by weight of vinylpyridine monomer units, are effective coactivators of vulcanization for TBBS-accelerated sulfur-vulcanized SBR. In addition to emulsion SBR, the new co-activator has been evaluated in copositions of solution SBR, BR, NR, and various blends. The co-activator is active in all of the compositions which contain butadiene-derived synthetic rubber. This includes blends such as SBR/BR, solution-SBR/BR, SBR/NR, BR/NR, SBR/BR/NR, etc. There is little or no activity in which NR is the only polymer. The most efficacious copolymers contain between 30 and 60% 2-vinylpyridine. The incorporation of such a copolymer into an unvulcanized butadiene-derived rubber mix can give a substantial increase in the rate of crosslink formation with only a minimum loss of scorch resistance. Since the polymeric coactivators are very high in molecular weight, it can be at least tentatively concluded that they will not migrate from one component stock to another in a built-up multi-stock rubber article, either before or during vulcanization. Since the curing characteristics of a vinylpyridine-copolymer-containing TBBS-accelerated stock can be similar to those of TBBS-accelerated NR, it might be concluded that the new additives will solve some of the problems in balancing the cures of adjacent NR and SBR stocks in a multicomponent cured rubber article.