Next Generation Rubber/Elastomer Synthesis and Catalyst Design

Abstract

For a sustainable society, it is necessary to develop materials that are premised on the recycling of resources. Rubber and soft-materials are no exception, and new technologies are needed to respond to a recycling-oriented society. In recent years, olefins and conjugated dienes, which are raw material monomers for general-purpose rubber, have been actively working to establish new manufacturing methods such as chemical recycling of waste and utilization of biomass raw materials, and are expected to expand in the future. We introduce a new rubber elastomer consisting of these common monomers such as isoprene, ethylene, styrene and butadiene obtained by the new catalytic system. The precisely structurally controlled polyisoprene has excellent properties not found in natural rubber. As a novel polymer, an ethylene-styrene-butadiene copolymer has been developed and exhibits unprecedented physical properties such as puncture resistance and self-healing properties. These were realized by the synergistic effect of “catalytic chemistry” and “computational chemistry”. We believe that it is necessary to strategically and broadly build future technologies in order to respond quickly to the changing needs of society and continue to provide new value.