Design of thermoplastic vulcanizates induced by metal-ligand coordination towards enhanced mechanical properties and shape memory behavior

作者：Huang, Jiarong; Gong, Zhou; Peng, Tao; Cao, Liming; Chen, Yukun^*

来源：COMPOSITES COMMUNICATIONS, 2020, 22: 100444.

DOI：10.1016/j.coco.2020.100444

• Metal-ligand coordination
• Thermoplastic vulcanizates
• Mechanical properties
• Shape memory properties

It remains a challenge to prepare thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPVs)-based composites with multi-functions and enhanced mechanical properties simultaneously. Here, metal-ligand coordination was introduced into dynamic vulcanization to fabricate styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer (SAN)/butadiene acrylonitrile rubber (NBR)/iron chloride (FeCl3) TPVs. Fe3+ could not only interact with the nitrile groups (-CN) of NBR to cross-link the rubber phase, but also interact with the -CN of SAN to realize the interfacial compatibilization, enhancing the mechanical properties of the TPVs. Significantly, the dynamic nature of Fe3+-CN interactions endowed the TPVs with reconfigurable network-like rubber phase and excellent recycling ability. The coordination interaction and network-like structure of the NBR phase enabled the TPVs into shape memory materials with shape recovery ratio of 91.53%. We propose a novel technique to prepare TPVs with high performance and multi-functionality, and it may expand the research scope of dynamic vulcanization.