Polybutadiene is an important polymer in adhesives, elastomers, and sealants. Presently, UV curing of polybutadiene requires chemical addition of an acrylate or methacrylate moiety to render the polymer amenable to UV-promoted crosslinking. This approach is effective, but requires additional chemical steps to produce the acrylate-functional material. Thiol-ene crosslinking of liquid polybutadiene utilizes pendent vinyl groups (1,2-additions) inherent in the polymerization of 1,4-butadiene as reactive handles, providing crosslinking along the polymer backbone. The effect of prepolymer molecular weight, polythiol functionality, polythiol loading, and initiator loading on mechanical properties was determined, including Shore hardness and stress-strain behavior. Analogous thermally-initiated thiol-ene systems were prepared and investigated, and compared to their UV-cured counterparts.

Acrylate-free UV cure of liquid polybutadienes using thiol-ene chemistry

ACS Spring 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.