Preparation and characterization of low-temperature hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber hybrid with hydrogen bonds for the sealing applications

In order to explore the effect of fillers with hydrogen bonds on the properties of low-temperature HNBR rubber (LTG-HNBR), its compounds with low content of 3,9-bis[1,1-dimethyl-2-{β-(3-tert-butyl-4-hydroxy-5-methylphenyl) propionyloxy}ethyl]-2,4,8,10-tetraoxaspiro [5,5]-undecane (AO-80) were successfully prepared. It is found that AO-80 is nano-particle morphology in the matrix when its amounts are below 20 phr. The interaction parameter B is calculated to display the strong interactions of AO-80 with rubber resembling that of the polymeric fillers which increase loss factors of the matrix. Moreover, increasing amounts of AO-80 alters their aspect ratios and the distributions of hydrogen bonds which cause the glassy temperatures of the hybrids to be well predicted by Fox equation. Their low temperature elasticity can be therefore tuned by AO-80 amounts. Also, the mechanical properties of LTG-HNBR are improved by introducing AO-80. We believe that hydrogen bonds are always interesting in the modifications of low-temperature rubber for sealing applications.