Highlights of epoxidized natural rubber: from self-vulcanizing blends to reprocessable chemical or physical networks

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

This manuscript provides a critical review of major advancements we brought about in the field of epoxidized natural rubber (ENR), highlighting the development of ENR from self-vulcanizing blends with dicarboxylic acids to innovative networks that are physically or chemically reprocessable. The work includes accelerated curing using imidazole derivatives, the introduction of thermoreversible disulfide bonds for chemical reprocessability, and the incorporation of crystallizable grafts for thermoplastic behavior. These advancements underscore ENR’s adaptability and environmental benefits, positioning it as a versatile elastomer suitable for sustainable and high-performance applications.