Typical applications: The major use of cis polybutadiene rubber is in tires. It goes into side walls and treads to optimize performance such as traction, rolling and abrasion resistance, it is typically compounded with other elastomers such as natural rubber and SBR. Other applications are golf ball cores, inner tubes of hoses for sandblasting, and covers for pneumatic and water hoses. Polybutadiene is also used as a toughening agent in plastics, in particular in high-impact polystyrene (HIPS) andacrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS). High vinyl and high trans polybutadiene are produced on a much smaller scale and are used on amuch smaller scale. For example, high-vinly PBD is sometimes used in high quality tires to improve rebound resilience whereas high-trans PBD is used in the outer lay of golf balls.

Advantages: Butadiene rubbers are typically cured by sulfur systems and are often compounded with other polymers and additives such as oils, fillers, crosslinking agents, and antioxidants, which allows for a versatile variation of the elastomeric properties.

Disadvantages: Butadiene rubbers are not resistant to oil, gasoline and hydrocarbon solvents. They also have poor heat resistance and are susceptible to attack by ozone due to the presence of double bonds in the polymer backbone which are prone to thermal-oxidative degradation. The degradation generally occurs through oxidative crosslinking and causes embrittlement.

Information provided by CLWYD COMPOUNDERS LTD.