POLY(METAL CARBOXYLATE) GRAFTED RUBBERS WITH HIGH MODULUS

摘要

A graft copolymer rubber comprising an unsaturated hydrocarbon rubber backbone having pendently grafted thereto a polymerized metal salt of an unsaturated carboxylic acid is provided. The graft copolymer rubber is prepared by a method which involves dissolving an unsaturated hydrocarbon rubber in a solvent to form a rubber solution, adding a metal salt of an unsaturated carboxylic acid to the solution, adding a free radical initiator to the solution and then heating the resultant reaction mixture at a temperature of from about 40 to about 150.degree.C for a time period of from about 0.1 to about 100 hours. The resultant graft copolymer rubber is sulfur curable and when compounded with conventional rubber additives and cured forms rubber compounds having high modulus. The graft copolymer rubbers of the invention can be used in various end use applications where high strength properties are important such as tires, industrial rubber goods and the like.