Incorporation of fillers to modify the mechanical performance of inverse vulcanised polymers

Abstract

Sulfur is a by-product of the refinement of crude oil and natural gas, produced at millions of tonnes per annum, resulting in large overground storage of elemental sulfur. “Inverse vulcanisation” allows for the use of high proportions of sulfur to synthesise inverse vulcanised polymers. However, inverse vulcanised polymers need to be further improved in their mechanical performance to widen their applications. Like with many conventional polymers, fillers can also be used to tailor the mechanical properties of inverse vulcanised polymers, for example, by increasing their tensile strength. The use of the polymer, sulfur-1,3-diispropenylbenzene (S-DIB), as a model system for the addition of fillers (carbon black, cellulose microfibres, and nanoclay) at 2–10 wt% (weight percentage) and their effect on the mechanical properties of the resultant composite is reported herein. Following optimisation with S-DIB, the technique was shown to be transferable to related polymer systems.