Volume 61, Issue 12 p. 3082-3093
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Modification of poly(styrene-b-(ethylene-co-butylene)-b-styrene) via free-radical grafting and its photo-crosslinking

Agnès Harlay

Agnès Harlay

ICGM, University of Montpellier, CNRS, ENSCM, Montpellier, France

Polymers Composites and Hybrids (PCH), IMT Mines Ales, Ales, France

ARMOR, ZAC Le Taillis, Les Sorinères, France

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Thomas Brossier

Thomas Brossier

ICGM, University of Montpellier, CNRS, ENSCM, Montpellier, France

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Nicolas Morand

Nicolas Morand

ARMOR, ZAC Le Taillis, Les Sorinères, France

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Marcos Batistella

Marcos Batistella

Polymers Composites and Hybrids (PCH), IMT Mines Ales, Ales, France

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Arnaud Regazzi

Arnaud Regazzi

LMGC, IMT Mines Ales, University of Montpellier, CNRS, Ales, France

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Sébastien Blanquer

Corresponding Author

Sébastien Blanquer

ICGM, University of Montpellier, CNRS, ENSCM, Montpellier, France

Correspondence

Sébastien Blanquer, ICGM, University of Montpellier, CNRS, ENSCM, Building 17, Montpellier, 34095, France.

Email: [email protected]

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José Lopez-Cuesta

José Lopez-Cuesta

Polymers Composites and Hybrids (PCH), IMT Mines Ales, Ales, France

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Jean-Jacques Robin

Jean-Jacques Robin

ICGM, University of Montpellier, CNRS, ENSCM, Montpellier, France

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First published: 15 October 2021
Citations: 1

Funding information: Association Nationale de la Recherche et de la Technologie

Abstract

Poly(styrene-b-(ethylene-co-butylene)-b-styrene) (SEBS) is functionalized via radical grafting with 4-vinyl-1-cyclohexene 1,2-epoxide (VCHO) initiated using 2,5-Bis(tert-butylperoxy)-2,5-dimethylhexane. The existence of the epoxide group on the SEBS backbone is evidenced by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance. A size exclusion chromatography (SEC) study reveals some chain coupling, and this phenomenon is limited by controlling the quantities of peroxide and monomer reagents used during the radical grafting. Photo-crosslinking of SEBS-g-VCHO under ultraviolet irradiation in the presence of a cationic initiator is then successfully performed with resultant gel contents higher than 85%. Mechanical properties of SEBS and crosslinked materials are measured by tensile tests on thin films. On the one hand, those tests reveal a significant increase of Young's modulus of the crosslinked materials. On the other hand, the diminution of elongation at break is much more limited; crosslinked materials retain their elastomeric properties with an elongation at break greater than 200%. Finally, the photosensitive SEBS-g-VCHO is used to show the adhesion performance of the photo-crosslinking coating as well as a resin for the stereolithography process.