PolymerPub Date : 2026-02-20Epub Date: 2026-01-27DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2026.129656
Hongbo Lu , Yaodong Feng , Yue Zhao , Hao Bai , Lei Chen , Miao Xu
{"title":"Polymer-dispersed liquid crystals with low driving voltage and high peel strength based on siloxane-functionalized acrylates","authors":"Hongbo Lu , Yaodong Feng , Yue Zhao , Hao Bai , Lei Chen , Miao Xu","doi":"10.1016/j.polymer.2026.129656","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.polymer.2026.129656","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Polymer-dispersed liquid crystals (PDLC) show great application potential in the areas of smart windows and displays. However, the driving voltage and peel strength still need further improvement. This study systematically examined how siloxane-functionalized acrylate monomers influence the electro-optical and mechanical properties of PDLC by analyzing the electro-optical behavior, micro morphology, and mechanical characteristics. The results indicate that the migration of siloxane-functionalized acrylate monomers at the interface can lower the driving voltage and increase the peel strength of the PDLC film. For a 20 μm-thick film, compared to a sample without added siloxane-functionalized acrylate monomer, the saturation voltage (<em>V</em><sub>sat</sub>) decreased by about 37.3 % to 27.1 V. At the same time, the peel strength increased by approximately 60.2 % to 28.2 N/m. Furthermore, the peel strength was further increased to 35.1 N/m after UV-ozone modification of the substrate. This study is anticipated to provide a new approach to optimizing the performance of PDLC films for practical applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":405,"journal":{"name":"Polymer","volume":"346 ","pages":"Article 129656"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146048001","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PolymerPub Date : 2026-02-20Epub Date: 2026-01-29DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2026.129650
Kalipada Manna , Arpita Roy , Sagar Pal
{"title":"Polymeric micelles and hydrogels: Tailored synthesis strategies and biomedical applications","authors":"Kalipada Manna , Arpita Roy , Sagar Pal","doi":"10.1016/j.polymer.2026.129650","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.polymer.2026.129650","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The design and development of multifunctional polymers have advanced significantly, enabling precise responses specific to environmental and biological stimuli. This Feature Article highlights our group's contribution toward the design and development of various stimuli-responsive polymer micelles and hydrogels with precise structural and functional control. The amphiphilic copolymers have been designed using reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization and have been characterized with controlled molecular weight and narrow dispersity (Đ≈1.3 or less), indicating controlled polymerization. These copolymers self-assemble into micelles with tunable sizes (80–200 nm), controlled drug release profiles, and responsiveness to stimuli, including pH, temperature, redox potential, and light. On the other hand, the hydrogel systems exhibit tunable physical properties such as porosity and strength, enabling applications in co-delivery, hemostasis, and bioelectronics. One of the hydrogels designed from β-cyclodextrin and poly(<em>N</em>-vinyl imidazole) demonstrates excellent hemostatic behavior, revealing less than 1.3 % hemolysis, which is comparable to or even better than that of commercially available hemostats. These materials have been found to be biocompatible and emphasize the potential of molecular-level control in developing adaptive systems for clinical and biomedical applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":405,"journal":{"name":"Polymer","volume":"346 ","pages":"Article 129650"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146072643","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PolymerPub Date : 2026-02-20Epub Date: 2026-01-28DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2026.129672
Peixing Yang , Zhaohui Min , Yu Shun , Yanli Zhao , Jinxiang Hong , Fei Chen , Wei Huang
{"title":"Preparation and properties of alkyl-modified polyurethane paving materials: A multiscale simulation and experimental investigation","authors":"Peixing Yang , Zhaohui Min , Yu Shun , Yanli Zhao , Jinxiang Hong , Fei Chen , Wei Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.polymer.2026.129672","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.polymer.2026.129672","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Polyurethane (PU) paving materials, known for their excellent high- and low-temperature performance, suffer from inadequate water resistance. To address this limitation, side-chain alkyl-modified polyurethanes (MG-PU) were synthesized, and multiscale simulations were conducted to elucidate the enhancement mechanisms. Experimental results indicated that a 20 % side-chain alkyl content yielded an optimal balance among mechanical properties, road performance, and water resistance. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations revealed that MG introduction strengthened non-bonding interactions, primarily van der Waals forces, reducing free volume, and limiting water molecule diffusion, thus improving water resistance. However, exceeding 20 % MG content led to the encapsulation of polar groups, which reduced electrostatic interactions and weakened non-bonding interaction energy. This resulted in higher free volume, and reduced water resistance. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicated that MG reduced the PU molecule dipole moment by 18 % and lowered the water molecule adsorption energy by 53.6 %, providing deeper insight into the water resistance mechanism at the electronic level. Pearson correlation analysis confirmed the link between water resistance and micro-level simulations. This study elucidates the effects of water diffusion and intermolecular interactions, providing a theoretical foundation for the design of water-resistant PU paving materials.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":405,"journal":{"name":"Polymer","volume":"346 ","pages":"Article 129672"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146072864","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PolymerPub Date : 2026-02-20Epub Date: 2026-01-28DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2026.129664
Yue Wang , Caijuan Yang , Xiaoyan Sun , Feng Li , Wenying Zhao , Li Xia , Shuguang Xiang
{"title":"Data-driven models toward polymer glass transition temperature embedded in structures","authors":"Yue Wang , Caijuan Yang , Xiaoyan Sun , Feng Li , Wenying Zhao , Li Xia , Shuguang Xiang","doi":"10.1016/j.polymer.2026.129664","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.polymer.2026.129664","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The glass transition temperature (<em>T</em><sub>g</sub>) is a critical property of polymers. There are small experimental data about <em>T</em><sub>g</sub>. It is necessary to establish a data-driven method for the prediction of <em>T</em><sub>g</sub>. A machine learning framework is proposed by integrating a large-scale dataset containing 1016 data points, as well as 6 machine learning models, 123 group descriptors, and 1000 Monte Carlo simulations. The <em>R</em><sup>2</sup> of Gaussian process regression in the test set is 0.9683, which is more accurate than the other five machine learning models. In addition, linear optimization was adopted to reconstruct group parameters and improve the group contribution additivity method (GAP). An external independent test set was employed to verify the universality and accuracy of machine learning and GAP methods. The proposed methods for the prediction of <em>T</em><sub>g</sub> with group structures provide good guidance for polymer molecule design and application.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":405,"journal":{"name":"Polymer","volume":"346 ","pages":"Article 129664"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146072860","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PolymerPub Date : 2026-02-20Epub Date: 2026-01-29DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2026.129655
Xiaowei Lu , Zijian Wu , Yue Zhao , Zhaojun Wang , Yue Zhang , Mingpeng He , Mingqi Sun , Ning Guo , Hassan Algadi , Ling Weng , Juanna Ren , Renbo Wei , Junguo Gao
{"title":"Brick-mud structured epoxy/boron nitride thermally conductive composites based on hot-pressing technology","authors":"Xiaowei Lu , Zijian Wu , Yue Zhao , Zhaojun Wang , Yue Zhang , Mingpeng He , Mingqi Sun , Ning Guo , Hassan Algadi , Ling Weng , Juanna Ren , Renbo Wei , Junguo Gao","doi":"10.1016/j.polymer.2026.129655","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.polymer.2026.129655","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Electronic and electrical equipment is gradually evolving towards miniaturization and higher power density. The heat accumulated during operation has become a primary factor affecting product reliability and service life. Therefore, it is imperative to solve the challenges faced by thermal management materials, including low through-plane thermal conductivity, poor insulation properties, and complex manufacturing processes. This study proposes a simple and low-cost approach to overcome these challenges, utilizing mechanical grinding to construct a brick-mud structure in which hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) encapsulate epoxy resin microspheres (EMs). An easily processable hot-pressing technique is employed to form continuous thermally conductive pathways. During the hot-pressing process, the mechanical properties of the EMs ensure the orientation of h-BN at the through-plane. The introduction of liquid metal (LM) can fill the gaps between h-BN and EMs, thereby enhancing the continuity of the thermal conduction network. The composite material prepared in this work exhibits excellent formability, enabling it to conform more closely to the gaps in electronic chips. At 50 wt% h-BN loading, the thermal conductivity of EMs/BN<sub>50</sub>/LM<sub>10</sub>/EP reaches 2.008 W/(m·K). The excellent dielectric properties of h-BN enable the composite material to maintain a low dielectric constant and dielectric loss. The volume resistivity of all tested samples exceeded the standard required for electrical insulation (>10<sup>12</sup> Ω cm), and they also had a relatively high breakdown field strength (>10 kV), meeting the application requirements for medium-low frequency electronic packaging.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":405,"journal":{"name":"Polymer","volume":"346 ","pages":"Article 129655"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146072857","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PolymerPub Date : 2026-02-20Epub Date: 2026-01-16DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2026.129611
He Meng , Li Jiang , Yuan-Ming Zhai , Cong Yan , Fei Luo , Kai Zhang , Ming-Bo Yang
{"title":"Simultaneously enhancing the melt strength and thermal resistance of PLLA/PVA blends via graft copolymer induced interfacial stereocomplex network","authors":"He Meng , Li Jiang , Yuan-Ming Zhai , Cong Yan , Fei Luo , Kai Zhang , Ming-Bo Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.polymer.2026.129611","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.polymer.2026.129611","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is regarded as one of the most promising biodegradable polymers. However, PLA has inherent limitations, including low crystallinity, low melt strength, and inadequate thermal resistance, which limit its use in blown films and disposable containers. In this study, the poly(vinyl alcohol)-graft-poly(<span>d</span>-lactic acid) (PVA-g-PDLA) graft copolymer was synthesized via the \"graft-onto\" strategy and incorporated into the poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(<span>l</span>-lactic acid) (PLLA/PVA) blend. By varying the PVA-g-PDLA content, a physical crosslinked network of stereocomplex crystals was formed, significantly enhancing the blend's crystallization rate, melt strength, and thermal resistance. Compared with the blend without PVA-g-PDLA (PLA7PVA3), the blend PLA7PVA3-g-20 exhibited a 289 % increase in crystallization rate at 110 °C, a nearly four orders of magnitude increase in complex viscosity, around 1030 % increase in strain-hardening ratio, a 1263 % increase in the maximum elongation viscosity, and a 130 % increase in Vicat softening temperature. These improvements make PLLA/PVA/PVA-g-PDLA blends promising for applications in blown films, disposable containers, and sustainable packaging solutions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":405,"journal":{"name":"Polymer","volume":"346 ","pages":"Article 129611"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145995823","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PolymerPub Date : 2026-02-20Epub Date: 2026-01-19DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2026.129619
Yuxin Song , Rong Guo , Jianming Zhong , Xu Zhang , Fuchang Shu , Yongbing Zhuang
{"title":"Effects of repeat unit sequences on physical and gas transport properties of soluble copolyimides","authors":"Yuxin Song , Rong Guo , Jianming Zhong , Xu Zhang , Fuchang Shu , Yongbing Zhuang","doi":"10.1016/j.polymer.2026.129619","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.polymer.2026.129619","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Polyimides are widely utilized in functional applications such as gas separation membranes, owing to their outstanding properties. However, the influence of repeat unit sequences on physical and gas transport properties remains insufficiently explored. In this work, three imide-containing diamines, Diamine 1, Diamine N, and Diamine B, were synthesized by reacting 2,5-dimethyl-1,4-phenylenediamine (DPD) with 1,4,5,8-naphthalenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (NTCDA), 4,4′-(4,4′-isopropylidenediphenoxy) bis (phthalic anhydride) (BPADA), and 4,4′-(hexafluoroisopropylidene) diphthalic anhydride (6FDA), respectively. Subsequently, alternating copolymers NT6F-A and BP6F-A were prepared from Diamine N or Diamine B with 6FDA, while BPBT-A and 6FBT-A were obtained from Diamine B or Diamine 1 with 3,3′,4,4′-benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA). For comparative evaluation, four corresponding random copolymers (NT6F–R, BP6F–R, BPBT-R, and 6FBT-R) were also synthesized under identical conditions. The effects of repeat unit sequencing on the copolyimides’ physical and gas transport properties were systematically investigated. Compared to their random analogs, alternating copolymers exhibited more ordered and dense chain packing that imparts higher diffusion selectivity, thereby substantially enhancing membrane gas separation selectivity. And the alternating copolymer 6FBT-A in particular demonstrated superior solubility, mechanical properties and thermal conductivity relative to its random counterpart 6FBT-R. Specifically, 6FBT-A exhibited tensile strength and modulus of 98.9 MPa and 2.80 GPa, representing increases of 23.9 % and 12.0 %, respectively. Its thermal conductivity reached 0.1640 W m<sup>−1</sup> K<sup>−1</sup>, a 138 % improvement over 6FBT-R. Furthermore, the O<sub>2</sub>/N<sub>2</sub> selectivity increased by 26 %, from 5.8 to 7.3. This study provides valuable insights into the rational design of advanced polyimides with optimal physical and gas separation performance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":405,"journal":{"name":"Polymer","volume":"346 ","pages":"Article 129619"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146001092","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PolymerPub Date : 2026-02-20Epub Date: 2026-01-20DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2026.129625
Yaqian Guo, Zhaolei Li, Chao Yan
{"title":"Dynamic Monte Carlo simulations of strain-induced crystallization in multiblock copolymers: the influence of crystallizable block length on dilution effects","authors":"Yaqian Guo, Zhaolei Li, Chao Yan","doi":"10.1016/j.polymer.2026.129625","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.polymer.2026.129625","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Commonly employed thermoplastic elastomers such as polyether-<em>b</em>-polyamides (or -polyesters), polyurethanes (or with -urea) and olefin block copolymers, are typically processed via a stretching process to confer high elasticity and toughness on their end products, wherein a critical determinant is the size diversity of hard crystalline microdomains. In previous dynamic Monte Carlo simulations about the dilution effects of noncrystallizable blocks in diblock and tetrablock copolymers with alternately linked crystallizable and noncrystallizable blocks, we have elucidated that strain-induced crystallization of locally concentrated and diluted crystallizable blocks contributes to the large and small crystalline microdomains, respectively, and thus enhances the size diversity of crystalline microdomains. And the dilution effects remain robust from diblock to tetrablock copolymers. In the present work, we continued to study the effects of crystallizable block length on strain-induced crystallization of concentrated and diluted crystallizable blocks in diblock copolymers. The results show that shortening the crystallizable blocks makes the lamellar crystalline microdomains shrink both in concentrated and diluted cases, and thus enhances the size diversity of crystalline microdomains further. Moreover, shortening the crystallizable blocks has little effect on both onset crystallization strains and the chain-folding probability of crystallites in the concentrated cases; however, it raises the onset crystallization strains while reduces the chain-folding probability of crystallites a lot in the diluted cases. Our observations imply that low chain-folding-probability crystallites in diluted lamellar crystalline microdomains will store potential deformations for initiating a short melting-recrystallization process at lower strains; meanwhile, high chain-folding-probability crystallites mainly in concentrated lamellar crystalline microdomains will hold the resistance to the loading stress and store more potential deformations for higher strains. Therefore, similar to those diverse nano-size beta-sheets in spider silks, the diverse chain-folding-probability crystallites in diverse size of lamellar crystalline microdomains endow excellent toughness to semicrystalline multiblock copolymers. Our simulation results presented herein enable a deeper insight into how the crystallizable block length governs toughness in semicrystalline thermoplastic elastomers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":405,"journal":{"name":"Polymer","volume":"346 ","pages":"Article 129625"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146001757","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A highly resilient and large-strain wearable hydrogel sensor based on acrylamide/gelatin/Zr4+ and its application in human motion monitoring and information transmission","authors":"Yixue Zhang , Mingxuan Liang , Zhiyan Yan , Shuo Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.polymer.2026.129635","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.polymer.2026.129635","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The application potential of flexible electronic technologies across diverse interdisciplinary domains has become increasingly evident. Owing to their unique combination of flexibility, biocompatibility, and skin-mimetic mechanical properties, hydrogels have emerged as a central material for wearable flexible sensors. Nevertheless, conventional hydrogel-based sensors often suffer from inadequate mechanical performance under high stress and large strain conditions, along with limited toughness. Gelatin, a natural protein, possesses a molecular structure abundant in hydroxyl and amino functional groups, enabling the formation of a highly extensible, hydrogen-bonded flexible network and exhibiting excellent biocompatibility. In this study, a thermally induced free-radical polymerization approach was employed to construct a covalently cross-linked rigid framework using polyacrylamide (PAM), while incorporating gelatin to establish a hydrogen-bond-reinforced flexible network. Concurrently, Zr<sup>4+</sup>were introduced to coordinate with anionic functional groups on both gelatin and PAM chains, resulting in the fabrication of a polyacrylamide/gelatin/zirconium ion composite hydrogel sensor (PMG<sub>x</sub>Z<sub>y</sub>). The PMG<sub>x</sub>Z<sub>y</sub> hydrogel sensor demonstrates exceptional toughness, rapid response dynamics, high sensitivity, and a broad sensing range. It achieves a strain of up to 924 % under a stress of 0.26 MPa, with a fracture energy of 1.12 MJ m<sup>−3</sup>. The sensor not only enables real-time monitoring of large-amplitude human motions but also facilitates sound recognition, handwritten pattern detection, and information transmission via integration with Morse code encoding. This work effectively overcomes the mechanical limitations of traditional hydrogel sensors, offering a promising new material platform for wearable sensing applications in fields such as outdoor sports monitoring and rehabilitation training.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":405,"journal":{"name":"Polymer","volume":"346 ","pages":"Article 129635"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146033796","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Silica filled slightly epoxidized solution styrene-butadiene rubber nanocomposites with excellent performance for tire tread","authors":"Botao Zhao, Ling Liu, Jiong Hui, Jiawei Gao, Haoyang Sun, Liqun Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.polymer.2026.129653","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.polymer.2026.129653","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this work, epoxidized solution styrene-butadiene rubber (ESSBR) with low functionality was successfully synthesized using an in-situ green epoxidation reaction. The ESSBR <em>x</em>/Si69-Silica nanocomposites were prepared by compounding the ESSBR with Si69-modified silica. The effects of different low epoxy degrees on the structure and properties of the nanocomposites were investigated. The results demonstrate that the ESSBR with a small number of epoxy groups, combined with Si69 modification, can play a synergistic role in improving silica dispersion and enhancing filler-rubber interaction. When the epoxy degree was 1.0 mol%, the nanocomposite exhibited excellent comprehensive performance. Compared to the SSBR/Si69-Silica nanocomposite, the ESSBR 1.0/Si69-Silica nanocomposite exhibited a 29 % increase in tan δ at 0 °C, a 20 % decrease in tan δ of 60 °C at 7 % strain, a 5.4 % reduction in Akron abrasion volume, and almost no change in elongation at break and <em>Tg</em>. Therefore, Si69-modified silica filled slightly ESSBR provides a new approach for the preparation of green tire treads.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":405,"journal":{"name":"Polymer","volume":"346 ","pages":"Article 129653"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146033793","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}