Epoxidation of Styrene–Butadiene Rubber (SBR) Using In Situ Generated Dimethyldioxirane (DMD): Characterization and Kinetic Study

The epoxidation of styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) was carried out using in situ generated dimethyldioxirane (DMD) as an epoxidant and tetra n-butyl ammonium bromide as phase-transfer catalyst.The epoxidation progress was monitored by 1 H-, 13 C-NMR and FT-IR spectroscopy.In order to optimize the epoxidation yields, kinetic studies were performed and the influences of different reaction parameters were determined.It is found that the epoxidation of SBR corresponds to second-order reaction relative to the concentration of double bonds in polymer backbone and DMD.The rate constant as well as the activation energy was established.