Abstract
In this work, we report about the mechanical relaxation characteristics of an intrinsically self-healable imidazole modified commercial rubber. This kind of self-healing rubber was prepared by melt mixing of 1-butyl imidazole with bromo-butyl rubber (bromine modified isoprene-isobutylene copolymer, BIIR). By this melt mixing process, the reactive allylic bromine of bromo-butyl rubber was converted into imidazole bromide salt. The resulting development of an ionic character to the polymer backbone leads to an ionic association of the groups which ultimately results to the formation of a network structure of the rubber chains. The modified BIIR thus behaves like a robust crosslinked rubber and shows unusual self-healing properties. The non-covalent reversible network has been studied in detail with respect to stress relaxation experiments, scanning electron microscopic and X-ray scattering.
Highlights
Nature has always been an ultimate inspiration for the development of new technologies
We investigated the stress relaxation characteristics of modified self-healing bromo-butyl rubber which was compared with the corresponding standard sulphur cured sample
The presented concept of self-healing followed by ionic association of the polar groups could
Summary
Nature has always been an ultimate inspiration for the development of new technologies. The way a lizard can regrow its limb, or animals and humans can repair wounds, have always been a matter of great interest. What if such capabilities could be incorporated into technology? Inspired from this, development of self-healing materials has emerged to be a challenging area to control damage to a lifeless object (see i.e., [1]). Due to enormous advantages like light weight, durability, resistance against natural weathering and easy processability, synthetic polymer composites are gradually replacing conventional materials. High performance polymer composites equipped with self-healing properties would be the ultimate materials of choice for different high-tech applications [2] What if such capabilities could be incorporated into technology? What if materials could heal themselves? Inspired from this, development of self-healing materials has emerged to be a challenging area to control damage to a lifeless object (see i.e., [1]).
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