Toughening and damping elastomers using crystallizable polyurethane particles.

The industry's mechanical equipment often faces a significant demand for damping rubber. Simultaneously improving damping and toughness of rubber materials is a challenging task. It was achieved by incorporating crystal particles into the chlorinated butyl rubber (CIIR) network, inspired by the "sliding crystal mechanism". To create the elastomers with high damping and toughness, polyurethane was used along with polyethylene glycol as a soft segment. The combination factors, including coordination and hydrogen bonds, played a crucial role in facilitating the formation of crystal particles within the material. These crystal particles acted as rigid fillers, enhancing the material's toughness. Additionally, the sacrificial reversible bonds present in the crystal particles allowed for energy dissipation during stress. These bonds can be repeatedly broken and regenerated, enabling the material to dissipate energy efficiently. Comparing these elastomers to pure CIIR, they exhibited a tensile strength and elongation at break of 5.76 MPa and 1973%, a fracture energy of 28.73 MJ/m3, a damping factor of 1.52, and a damping temperature range of 80 °C. These results indicate significant improvements in both damping and toughness properties. This advancement could have valuable implications for the industry's mechanical equipment, which often relies on effective damping rubber. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]