From Levulinic Acid to Imines: Creating Biobased, Recyclable, Cross-linked Rubbers through Covalent Adaptive Networks.

ABSTRACT: Dynamic covalent bonds provide a powerful tool to design recyclable rubber-based materials. Among possible strategies, imine chemistry offers a valuable approach for achieving an adaptive network. In this work, for the first time, the use of biobased ketones and amines as cross-linkers in a rubber network is used. Specifically, epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) was cross-linked with glycerol trilevulinate (GT) and hexamethylene diamine (HMDA) to produce a fully biobased and recyclable hybrid network based on imine and hydrogen bonds. Comprehensive characterization confirmed the formation of a hybrid adaptive network, while mechanical tests demonstrated that the optimal formulation (5 phr GT and 5 phr HMDA) achieved the best performance after recycling, showing a significant increase in tensi

SUBMITTER: Lenzi L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12511985 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature