Recycling Tires? Reversible Crosslinking of Poly(butadiene)

Furan-modified poly(butadiene) prepared by the thiol-ene click reaction is crosslinked with bismaleimides through the Diels–Alder reaction, giving rise to a novel recyclable elastomer. This is possible because of the thermal reversibility of the adducts responsible for the formation of the network. The use of this strategy provides the possibility to produce recyclable tires.