Self-Assembly Strategy for Double Network Elastomer Nanocomposites with Ultralow Energy Consumption and Ultrahigh Wear Resistance

One of the environmental crises facing the world is pollution due to rubber auto tire destruction. The use of tires in vehicles consumes 6% of the world's energy and causes 5% of carbon dioxide emissions; it accounts for up to 10% of the microplastic pollution found in oceans. Here, a new rubber nanocomposite self-assembled from hard and soft elastomer matrixes is designed: polybutadiene with its two hydroxy chain ends reacts with 4,4'-diphenylmethane diisocyanate to form segmented polyurethane. This system first undergoes self-assembly, forming well-defined nanoscale hard domains distributed in the soft matrix. Then, cross-linking between the soft segments is accomplished by a controlled radiation method, resulting in the double network elastomer (DN-E). Remarkably, the DN-E exhibits the lowest reported loss factor value at 60 °C. The index of energy dissipation in the rolling tire demonstrates a prominent reduction of 72%, accomplished with an 88% decrease in energy loss, and 85% less wear loss, as compared with best earlier reported commercial tires. These new double-network materials open a new prospective for the design and fabrication of ultralow energy-consumption and strong abrasion-resistance elastomers, which establishes a milestone for the development of the next generation of green low-pollution tires causing much less energy dissipation.