Sulfur or peroxide crosslinking is the most common and conventional method to develop elastomeric materials. A new approach to crosslink epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) by aminopropyl terminated polydimethylsiloxane (AT-PDMS) is described, intending to develop a new kind of hybrid organic–inorganic elastomers. The curing reaction is accelerated by using hydroquinone as a catalyst. The formation of the hybrid structure is evident from the appearance of two glass transition temperatures, at −1 and −120 °C, for the ENR and PDMS phases, respectively. The curing reaction is found to be of first order with respect to amine concentration with the estimated activation energy of ≈62 kJ mol⁻¹. Comparing the mechanical properties to a typical ENR-sulfur system leads to the conclusion that the ENR/AT-PDMS hybrid structure is highly stretchable and soft, as demonstrated by its relatively higher strain at failure (up to ≈630%), and lower hardness and modulus values. The higher stretchability and soft nature of the material are achieved by introducing flexible PDMS chains during the curing process resulting to a hybrid elastomer networks. This kind of soft but robust materials can find several applications in diverse fields, such as soft robotics, flexible, and stretchable electronics.

中文翻译：

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使用聚二甲基硅氧烷作为环氧化天然橡胶交联剂制备高拉伸和柔软无机-有机杂化弹性体的新途径

硫磺或过氧化物交联是开发弹性材料最常见和最常规的方法。描述了一种通过氨基丙基封端的聚二甲基硅氧烷 (AT-PDMS) 交联环氧化天然橡胶 (ENR) 的新方法，旨在开发一种新型的混合有机-无机弹性体。使用氢醌作为催化剂可加速固化反应。从ENR和PDMS相分别在-1和-120°C的两个玻璃化转变温度的出现可以明显看出混合结构的形成。发现固化反应是关于胺浓度的一级反应，估计活化能为 ≈62 kJ mol ^-1. 将机械性能与典型的 ENR-硫磺体系进行比较得出的结论是，ENR/AT-PDMS 混合结构具有高度的可拉伸性和柔软性，正如其相对较高的失效应变（高达 ≈630%）和较低的硬度所证明的和模量值。通过在固化过程中引入柔性 PDMS 链，形成混合弹性体网络，可以实现材料的更高拉伸性和柔软性。这种柔软但坚固的材料可以在不同领域找到多种应用，例如软机器人、柔性和可拉伸电子产品。