Thermoplastic vulcanizates (i.e. TPVs) are classified as thermoplastic elastomers, and have been replacing on cured rubber especially for environmental benefits and cost reduction. Owing to its unique morphology, cured rubber particles dispersed in resin matrix, TPVs exhibit rubber elasticity at ambient temperature, and can be molded as thermoplastic resins. EXCELINK^® is advanced TPV which is developed based on JSR original rubber and selection of suitable olefinic resin, compounding and polymer alloy technologies. We have mainly three series of EXCELINK^® #1000, #3000, and #4000. EXCELINK^® #1000 shows not only high melt flow rate, and strong adhesion with olefinic materials, but also lower compression set. EXCELINK^® #1000 is widely used in automotive applications. EXCELINK^® #3000 is formed by rubber matrix with unique physical crosslinking structure, which contributes to rubber like texture. Furthermore, it can be applied to various molding procedure, such as film extrusion, foam and blow molding. EXCELINK^® #4000 is newly developed TPV, which combines excellent oil-resistance for use in oil-resistant elastomers parts as alternative for oil-resistant cured rubbers. Thus, EXCELINK^® has been given interests as alternative materials to conventional cured rubbers. We will continue to work on research and development of EXCELINK^® for responding to needs of customer and contributing to sustainable society.

Acrylic rubbers obtained by copolymerization of some acrylic monomers are known as specialty rubbers with high heat and oil resistance. Acrylic rubbers are widely used in the automotive industry such as materials for hose, seal, and so on. Recently, rubber for automotive is required to be excellent in heat resistance to enable high output due to the growth of environmental regulations. In this paper, basic properties of acrylic rubbers and new high heat resistant acrylic rubber (Denka ER^® ERX-219) are reported.

High 1,2-vinyl containg PB can be produced by the living anionic polymerization method. It used as an additive for various rubber products such as EPDM, SBS, and HNBR, since the 1,2-vinyl units react each other as a crosslinking reaction to create a network structure which contributes to the improvement of hardness, elasticity and oil-resistance in the rubber properties. In this study, we carried out the evaluation of the partially epoxidized 1,2-PB (1,2-epoxidized PB) as an additive for the formulation of chlorosulfonated polyethylene (CSM), poly (vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (FKM). This partially epoxidized 1,2-PB can undergo a cross-linking reaction of 1,2-vinyl units and an acid-accepting reaction of the 1,2-epoxydized units. The result indicates that the 1,2-epoxidized PB can be used, not only as a modifier for mechanical properties, but also as an acid acceptor for halogenated rubber formulations instead of lead monoxide of which use has been strictly controlled based on the regulation of REACH and RoHS.

The characteristics and application examples of TUBALL^TM single wall carbon nanotube which Kusumoto Chemicals Ltd., the sole distributor in Japan is introducing.

The effect of blending ethylene-α-olefin co-oligomer as a modifier with polystyrene-block-poly[ethylene-co-(ethylene-propylene)]-block-polystyrene (SEEPS) triblock copolymer/polypropylene (PP) compounds was investigated. Compared with mineral oil, ethylene-α-olefin co-oligomer improved the compression set (CS) and the permanent set (PS) of the compound and increased the fracture strength of the compound. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements showed that the ethylene-α-olefin co-oligomer was localized at the center of the poly[ethylene-co-(ethylene-propylene)](EEP) phase, while the mineral oil was widely distributed in the EEP phase and reached even near the interface between the polystyrene (PSt) phase and the EEP phase. This suggests that, in the case of the ethylene-α-olefin co-oligomer, the stress of the EEP block chain can be kept during the deformation more than in the case of the mineral oil, resulting in the good properties of CS and PS.