A New Route to Highly Stretchable and Soft Inorganic–Organic Hybrid Elastomers Using Polydimethylsiloxane as Crosslinker of Epoxidized Natural Rubber

Sulfur or peroxide crosslinking is the most common and conventional method to develop elastomeric materials. A new approach crosslink epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) by aminopropyl terminated polydimethylsiloxane (AT-PDMS) described, intending a kind of hybrid organic–inorganic elastomers. The curing reaction accelerated using hydroquinone as catalyst. formation structure evident from appearance two glass transition temperatures, at ?1 ?120 °C, for ENR PDMS phases, respectively. found be first order with respect amine concentration estimated activation energy ?62 kJ mol?1. Comparing mechanical properties typical ENR-sulfur system leads conclusion that ENR/AT-PDMS highly stretchable soft, demonstrated its relatively higher strain failure (up ?630%), lower hardness modulus values. stretchability soft nature material are achieved introducing flexible chains during process resulting elastomer networks. This but robust materials can find several applications in diverse fields, such robotics, flexible, electronics.