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Abstract
Highly unsaturated rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), was sulfonated successfully by sulfuric acid and acetic anhydride as sulfonating agent in a mixed solvent of petroleum ether and methyl ethyl ketone at high concentration, and neutralized with metallic acetate to form ionomer. Melt flow and mechanical properties of the ionomers and their blends with other polymers were studied. The results showed that the SBR ionomers can be melt processed easily in the presence of zinc stearate and that they behave like thermoplastic elastomers. Zinc stearate lowered the melt viscosity represented by the torque value of a Brabender mixer, and increased both the flow activation energy and the tensile strength of the ionomer. Sulfonate content of the ionomer enhanced both the melt viscosity and tensile strength. Type of cations used in neutralization significantly affected the properties of the ionomers. Blends of the ionomer with polypropylene or SBS showed synergistic behavior with respect to tensile strength, whereas those with polystyrene or cis-1,4-polybutadiene exhibited antagonistic behavior.