Preparation of High-Performance Composite Hydrogel Reinforced by Hydrophilic Modified Waste Rubber Powder.

Rui Wu,Lanlei Guo,Jing Zheng,Zhenxing Cao,Zuming Jiang,Jinrong Wu,Zhaoyang Yuan,Yao Zhang,Fuqing Yuan

doi:10.3390/molecules26164788

Abstract

In order to reduce the environmental pollution caused by waste rubber and to realize the recycling of resources, we proposed a facile method for the hydrophilic modification of waste rubber powder (HRP) and used it to reinforce a composite hydrogel. In the presence of toluene, dibenzoyl peroxide (BPO) diffused into the waste rubber powder. After the solvent was removed, BPO was adsorbed in the rubber powder, which was used to initiate the grafting polymerization of the acrylamide monomer on the rubber–water interface. As a result, the polyacrylamide (PAM) molecular chains were grafted onto the surface of the rubber powder to realize hydrophilic modification. The success of the grafting modification was confirmed by FTIR, contact angle testing, and thermogravimetric analysis. The hydrophilic modified waste rubber powder was used to reinforce the PAM hydrogel. Mechanical tests showed that the tensile strength and elongation at the break of the composite hydrogel reached 0.46 MPa and 1809%, respectively, which was much higher than those of pure PAM hydrogel. Such a phenomenon indicates that the waste rubber particles had a strengthening effect.

Highlights

With the development of the automobile industry, the amount of waste rubber produced is increasing every year
The waste rubber powder (WRP) obtained from the crushing of waste rubber products is used as filler to prepare composite materials
Wang et al used 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane as a surfactant to modify the surface of plasticized rubber powder (PRP) in order to improve its interface with epoxidized natural rubber [24]

Summary

Introduction

With the development of the automobile industry, the amount of waste rubber produced is increasing every year. In order to reduce the environmental pollution caused by waste rubber, more and more people are beginning to pay attention to how to recycle these types of black waste [3,4]. The waste rubber powder (WRP) obtained from the crushing of waste rubber products is used as filler to prepare composite materials. It is conducive to the recycling of resources. It has become one of the most promising methods for the treatment of waste rubber [5,6,7,8]

Methods

Results

Conclusion