Enhanced mechanical, thermal, and reprocessing properties of dynamically vulcanized BIIR/TPU blends with carbonized...

A new class of green, sustainable and environmentally friendly bromo-isobutylene-isoprene rubber/thermoplastic polyurethane vulcanizates (BIIR/TPU TPVs) with various rubber contents were successfully developed via dynamic vulcanization. The characterization and performance enhancement of carbonized collagen nanoparticles (CCNs) with an average diameter of 0.73 ± 0.24 µm dispersed in BIIR/TPU-70 TPV have been further investigated. The results showed that CCNs in the CCNs-BIIR/TPU-70 TPV lead to improved properties due to the good filler dispersion and the improved interfacial compatibility between BIIR and TPU. Compared to pure BIIR/TPU-70 TPV, the mechanical properties showed a significant increase in tensile strength of 3.4 MPa. The reprocessability of the TPVs was also improved, with only a minor reduction in elongation at break after two reprocessing cycles. These results demonstrate that the incorporation of CCNs can effectively enhance the mechanical properties, thermal stability, stiffness and reprocessability of BIIR/TPU TPVs, making them promising materials for applications in automotive interior materials, medical stoppers and footwear materials.