Styrene-butadiene and Styrene-isoprene Block Copolymers

styrene-butadiene and styrene-isoprene block copolymers (SBR), also known as styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) and styrene-isoprene-styrene (SIS), two related triblock copolymers that consist of polystyrene sequences (or blocks) at each end of a molecular chain and a butadiene or isoprene sequence in the centre. SBS and SIS are thermoplastic elastomers, blends that exhibit both the elasticity and resilience of butadiene rubber or isoprene rubber (natural rubber) and the ability of polystyrene to be molded and shaped under the influence of heat.

In the production of SBS and SIS, styrene and either butadiene or isoprene are polymerized (their single-unit molecules linked together to form long, chainlike, multiple-unit molecules) under the action of anionic initiators. Various polymerization procedures are followed, including building up a styrene chain, adding on butadiene or isoprene units to form a diblock copolymer, and then linking two diblock chains to form the triblock copolymer. In the final solidified product the polystyrene end-blocks of adjacent chains collect together in small domains, so that clusters of hard, thermoplastic polystyrene are distributed through a network of rubbery polybutadiene or polyisoprene.

Like all thermoplastic elastomers, SBS and SIS are less resilient than permanently interlinked vulcanized rubber, and they do not recover as efficiently from deformation. Also, they soften and flow as the glass-transition temperature (the temperature below which the molecules are locked in a rigid, glassy state) of polystyrene (about 100 °C [212 °F]) is approached, and they are completely dissolved (and not merely softened) by suitable liquids. Nevertheless, SBS and SIS are easily processed and reprocessed, owing to the thermoplastic properties of polystyrene, and they are remarkably strong at room temperature. They are frequently used for injection-molded parts, as hot-melt adhesives (especially in shoes), and as an additive to improve the properties of bitumen.