Renewable, Degradable, and Chemically Recyclable Cross Linked Elastomers
Most commercial elastomers, typified by vulcanized natural rubber, are cross linked polymers and as such cannot easily be reprocessed or recycled. While some are derived from renewable resources, the majority are produced from petroleum feedstocks and do not easily degrade. In this study, renewable elastomers based on b methyl d valerolactone were produced using two different methodologies: (1) tandem copolymerization/cross linking with a bis(six membered cyclic carbonate) (2) cross linking of a linear poly(b methyl d valerolactone) homopolymer with a free radical generator. The mechanical properties of these materials were investigated; tensile strengths of up to 12 MPa and elongations of up to 2000% were observed. Inclusion of a filler (fumed silica) was used to enhance the performance of the elastomers without significant loss of elasticity, with some composites exhibiting tensile strengths nearly double that of the neat elastomer. Aqueous degradation studies indicated that the materials were capable