Crosslinking Kinetics for Blends of Polyisoprene and MQ Copolymers

MQ resins have proved to be promising fillers for obtaining molecular composites based on silicone and carbon-chain rubbers. In the present work, MQ copolymers play the role of a complex filler with an inorganic core (Q unit) and an organic shell (M unit). Copolymers, in which the ratio of M and Q units was 1 : 2, 1 : 3, and 1 : 4, were used as fillers. Grafted methyl and decyl groups made it possible to use the MQ copolymer as a reinforcing filler of a carbon-chain polymer, polyisoprene. The thermal and rheokinetic behavior of filled compositions during the transformation of elastomers into rubbers was studied. Using differential scanning calorimetry and rheology techniques, the temperature parameters of the crosslinked structure formation process were determined and the values of the apparent activation energy of the crosslinking process were calculated. Increasing the proportion of the inorganic component from 1 : 2 to 1 : 4 resulted in an increase in the storage modulus of the crosslinked composites.