Preparation and Characterization of Room-Temperature-Vulcanized Silicone Rubber Using Acrylpimaric Acid-Modified Aminopropyltriethoxysilane as a Cross-Linking Agent

Acrylpimaric acid-modified aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APA-APTES) was prepared and confirmed by FT-IR, 1H NMR, and 13C NMR. The prepared APA-APTES was used as a cross-linking agent in the preparation of modified room-temperature-vulcanized (RTV) silicone rubber. The effects of APA-APTES on the thermal stability and mechanical properties of the modified silicone rubber were investigated. The APA-APTES-modified RTV silicone rubbers have significantly improved thermal stability and mechanical properties compared with unmodified silicone rubber. Such improved properties are due to the presence of hydrogenated phenanthrene ring in APA-APTES, which induces a cross-linking network structure in the modified RTV silicone rubber. In addition, RTV silicone rubber modified with APA-APTES also exhibited better performance than that modified with rosin acid or bisphenol A. This work also demonstrates that a rigid structure dispersed in silicon rubber can more effectively improve the rubber’s properties.