GOALI: Functional Polysulfides From Elemental Sulfur as Crosslinking Agents for Rubber Vulcanization

橡胶生产是一项重要的工业，市场上橡胶基产品种类繁多，橡胶轮胎需求量很大。尽管橡胶和轮胎工业已经成熟，但在改善这些材料的性能方面仍然存在根本性的科学挑战，这些挑战来自于交联化学硬化或硫化橡胶前驱体的局限性。在亚利桑那大学的Jeffrey Pyun教授和固特异轮胎橡胶公司的Paul Endres博士的合作中，研究小组的目标是开发新型的硫基交联剂，用于生产性能更好的下一代橡胶。人们早就知道，轮胎的性能本身就能深刻地影响汽车的燃油效率。硫基交联剂的使用也为石油工业提供了消耗化石燃料精炼产生的过量硫废物的途径。因此，这项研究预计将广泛影响橡胶工业，汽车，石油工业和可持续发展。该项目为本科生和研究生提供了研究培训和工业经验的机会，为工业的熟练劳动力做好准备。在学术界和产业界的协同合作中，Pyun教授和Endres博士旨在为增强橡胶和轮胎产品提供新的技术途径。Pyun教授开发了大规模合成多硫化物的新方法，作为橡胶硫化的可溶性硫交联剂，由单质硫与乙烯基和电子活化的芳香共聚物聚合而成。合成方法的组成可调性使得引入有机共单体单元能够改善硫相与聚二烯（橡胶前体）的相容性和反应性。利用固特异轮胎和橡胶公司的专业工业设施，Endres博士将新型聚硫交联剂纳入橡胶硫化配方中，并评估所得材料的机械性能。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The production of rubber is an important industry as noted by the wide range of rubber based products on the market and the large demands for rubber tires. Despite the maturity of the rubber and tire industries, there remain fundamental scientific challenges in improving the properties of these materials, which arise from limitations in the crosslinking chemistry to harden, or vulcanize rubber precursors. In this collaboration between Professor Jeffrey Pyun at the University of Arizona and Dr. Paul Endres at the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, the research team aims to develop novel sulfur-based crosslinkers for the production of the next generation rubber with improved properties. It has long been known that tire performance alone can profoundly impact the fuel efficiency in automobiles. The use of sulfur-based crosslinking agents also provides the petroleum industry avenues to consume excess sulfur waste generated from fossil fuel refining. Hence, this research is anticipated to broadly impact the rubber industry, automobiles, petroleum industry, and sustainability. This project provides opportunities for research training and industrial experience to undergraduate and graduate students, preparing a skilled workforce of industry.In this synergistic collaboration between academia and industry, Prof. Pyun and Dr. Endres aims to provide a new technological route to enhanced rubber and tire products. Prof. Pyun develops novel approaches to large-scale synthesis of polysulfides, as soluble sulfur crosslinking agents for rubber vulcanization, from the polymerization of elemental sulfur with vinylic and electronically activated aromatic co-monomers. The compositional tunability of the synthetic methods enables the introduction of organic co-monomer units that can improve the compatibility and reactivity of the sulfur phase with polydienes (rubber precursors). Using the specialized industrial facilities at the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Dr. Endres incorporates the novel polysulfide crosslinkers in formulations for vulcanization of rubber and evaluates the mechanical properties of the resulting materials.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.