Rubber toughening

Rubber toughening is a process in which rubber nanoparticles are interspersed within a polymer matrix to increase the mechanical robustness, or toughness, of the material. By "toughening" a polymer it is meant that the ability of the polymeric substance to absorb energy and plastically deform without fracture is increased. Considering the significant advantages in mechanical properties that rubber toughening offers, most major thermoplastics are available in rubber-toughened versions; for many engineering applications, material toughness is a deciding factor in final material selection.

The effects of disperse rubber nanoparticles are complex and differ across amorphous and partly crystalline polymeric systems. Rubber particles toughen a system by a variety of mechanisms such as when particulates concentrate stress causing cavitation or initiation of dissipating crazes. However the effects are not one-sided; excess rubber content or debonding between the rubber and polymer can reduce toughness. It is not possible to state the specific effects of a given particle size and interfacial adhesion parameter due to numerous other confounding variables.

The presence of a given failure mechanism is determined by many factors: those intrinsic to the continuous polymer phase, and those that are extrinsic, pertaining to the stress, loading speed, and ambient conditions. The action of a given mechanism in a toughened polymer can be studied with microscopy. The addition of rubbery domains occurs via processes such as melt blending in a Rheomix mixer and atom-transfer radical-polymerization.

Current research focuses on how optimizing the secondary phase composition and dispersion affects mechanical properties of the blend. Questions of interest include those to do with fracture toughness, tensile strength, and glass transition temperature.

Different theories describe how a dispersed rubber phase toughens a polymeric substance; most employ methods of dissipating energy throughout the matrix. These theories include: microcrack theory, shear-yielding theory, multiple-crazing theory, shear band and crazing interaction theory, and more recently those including the effects of critical ligament thickness, critical plastic area, voiding and cavitation, damage competition and others.

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