Influence of crosslinking on the Strain-induced structural evolution of Polychloroprene rubber upon uniaxial stretching

Crosslinked polychloroprene (PC) is a widely used polymer in fields such asautomotive/tire industry due to its specific mechanical performance. The aim of this project is to study the effect of both crosslinking and degradation phenomenon on the mechanical behaviour and the associated structural evolution upon uniaxial stretching.

Particularly the goal of this project is to determine, for the first time, the influence of the crosslinking density of
each phase of the blend on the mechanical response during uniaxial stretching of the material. To achieve this goal, the structural evolution of the materials will
be followed by means of simultaneous SAXS-WAXS experiments upon uniaxial stretching in order to determine the influence of the crosslinking density of each
phase on the resulting mechanical behaviour. Also, the influence of the BR phase, which remain amorphous when the blend is deformed, on the crystallization of
NR under stress will be studied in detail