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THE BONDING OF A SILANE-BASED COUPLING AGENT WITH
POLYBUTADIENE. Sonya N. Burns and mentor, Dr. D. Raghavan, Department
of Chemistry
Within scientific research communities, polymer research has become very
prominent. Polymers, often called plastic or rubbers, are relatively reusable.
Their physical and molecular characterstics frequently allow them to become
molded, stretched, compressed, and more. Current research being conducted in
Dr. Raghavan's lab in the Department of Chemistry at Howard University will be
applied to the recyling of waste tires in cement matrixes.
Investigations have
shown that waste fields everywhere are overpopulated with old tires. Because
of the hazard involved with having them there, environmentalists are in pursuit
of a new proposal to remedy the problem.
Cement is water-based; however,
polybutadiene (PBD), a rubber found in many automobile tires, is hydrophobic.
Consequently, polybutadiene will not readily dissolve in the cement since the
cement becomes more ductile with inclusion of the rubber.
In order to obtain a
homogeneous cement-rubber mixture, a silane-based coupling agent is bonded to
the rubber. Gamma mercaptopropyl trimethoxy silane coupling agent is polar,
and after deprotonation, it is hydrophilic. This implies that is will bring
the rubber into the cement solution.
The scope of this research was to
determine the conditions that will result in accurate infrared (IR) analysis of
the bond between the rubber and coupling agent.
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Because previous research proved that the reaction between rubber and
cement occurred at 150 C, the PBD and coupling agent mixture had to be heated
on a substrate. Therefore, the substrate had to allow for the retrieval of a
thin film and for the exclusion of any chemical interferences. These
substrate were glass slides, cover slips, teflon, aluminum foil, and metal
sheets.
Our results led us to conclude that the cross-linked polymer film is
removed with the greatest ease from the metal sheets. Nevertheless, more trials need to be completed to identify the precise method for repeatedly obtaining a thin consistent film.
Sonya N. Burns is a May 1996 graduate of Howard
University, majoring in
chemistry and minoring in mathematics. She is attending the University of
North Carolina-Chapel Hill for her graduate study. In addition to this
summer's research experience, Soyna has interned at Hoechst-Celanese in the
Polymer Research and Development Division. Her stay at Hoechst-Cleanese gave
her the quality exposure that she needed before deciding on a discipline
within chemistry for her doctoral work. She has challenged herself to conduct
a doctoral research project on the "Role of Rubber Chemistry in Designing Novel
Materials." She has been working with Dr. Raghavan to complete the objectives
of the research project.
McNair Alumni
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