Up to now, rubber materials have been used in a wide range of applications, from automotive parts to special-design engineering pieces, as well as in the pharmaceutical, food, electronics, and military industries, among others. Since the discovery of the vulcanization of natural rubber (NR) in 1838, the continuous demand for this material has intensified the quest for a synthetic substitute with similar properties. In this regard, synthetic polyisoprene rubber (IR) emerged as an attractive alternative. However, despite the efforts made, some properties of natural rubber have been difficult to match (i.e., superior mechanical properties) due not only to its high content of cis-1,4-polyisoprene but also because its structure is considered a naturally occurring nanocomposite. In this sense, cutting-edge research has proposed the synthesis of nanocomposites with synthetic rubber, obtaining the same properties as natural rubber. This review focuses on the synthesis, structure, and properties of natural and synthetic rubber, with a special interest in the synthesis of IR nanocomposites, giving the reader a comprehensive reference on how to achieve a mimic of NR.

Biobased hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) was successfully synthesized in a one-pot reaction via metathesis degradation of industrial rubbers. Thus, polybutadiene (PB) and poly(styrene-butadiene-styrene) (SBS) were degraded via metathesis with high yields (>94%), using the fatty alcohol 10-undecen-1-ol as a chain transfer agent (CTA) and the second-generation Grubbs–Hoveyda catalyst. The identification of the hydroxyl groups (-OH) and the formation of biobased HTPB were verified by FT-IR and NMR. Likewise, the molecular weight and properties of the HTPB were controlled by changing the molar ratio of rubber to CTA ([C=C]/CTA) from 1:1 to 100:1, considering a constant molar ratio of the catalyst ([C=C]/Ru = 500:1). The number average molecular weight (M_n) ranged between 583 and 6580 g/mol and the decomposition temperatures between 134 and 220 °C. Moreover, the catalyst optimization study showed that at catalyst loadings as low as [C=C]/Ru = 5000:1, the theoretical molecular weight is in good agreement with the experimental molecular weight and the expected diols and polyols are formed. At higher ratios than those, the difference between theoretical and experimental molecular weight is wide, and there is no control over HTPB. Therefore, the rubber/CTA molar ratio and the amount of catalyst play an important role in PB degradation and HTPB synthesis. Biobased HTPB can be used to synthesize engineering design polymers, intermediates, fine chemicals, and in the polyurethane industry, and contribute to the development of environmentally friendly raw materials.

This study reports the cross-metathesis of bicyclic β-pinene, acyclic cis-3- methylpent-2-ene terpenes and the natural rubber with functionalized olefins, a route for the functionalization of the carbon-carbon double bond of natural products to obtain aliphatic unsaturated esters. The production of unsaturated esters from β-pinene and cis-3- methylpent-2-ene via cross-metathesis reaction with dimethyl maleate and diethyl maleate in the presence of the ruthenium-alkylidene [Ru(Cl)2(=CHPh)(1,3-bis(2,4,6- trimethylphenyl)-2-imidazolidinylidene)(PCy3)] (I), [Ru(Cl)2(=CH(o-isopropoxyphenylmethylene))( 1,3-bis(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl) -2-imidazolidinylidene)] (II) and rutheniumvinylidene [RuCl2(=C=CH(p-C6H4CF3))(PCy3)2] (III) was carried out. Results showed that the reaction of β-pinene with diethyl maleate using II catalyst produced unsaturated esters with 43 % selectivity. I and III catalysts showed low activity toward the cross-metathesis of β-pinene and dimethyl maleate. A survey about the cross-metathesis of acyclic cis-3-methylpent-2-ene with diethyl maleate by II catalyst was also studied. The formation of ethyl but-2-enoate and ethyl-3-methylpent-2-enoate products was highly selective by 63 %. The unsaturated esters formation from the cross-metathesis degradation of natural rubber (99.9 % cis-polyisoprene) with dimethyl maleate and diethyl maleate using I-III catalysts was accomplished as well. I and II catalysts showed high activity in the degradation of natural rubber with diethyl maleate to produce the low molecular weight of oligomers unsaturated ester products (Mn = 1 x 103 g mol-1) with isoprene units of m = 10 – 27 and yields ranging from 68 to 94 %.

The ring opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of w-6-hexadecenlactone to an unsaturated linear polyester poly(w-6-hexadecenlactone), (PHDL) was investigated using the ruthenium-alkylidene [Ru(Cl)2(=CHPh)(PCy3)2] (I), [Ru(Cl2)(=CHPh)(1,3-bis(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)-2-imidazolidinylidene)(PCy3)] (II) and [Ru(Cl2)(=CH(o-isopropoxyphenylmethylene))(1,3-bis(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)-2-imidazolidinylidene)] (III) and the ruthenium-vinylidene [RuCl2(=C=CH(p-C6H4CF3))(PCy3)2] (IV) catalysts. The high number-average molecular weights between Mn = 114,800-155,400 g/mol and yields ranging from 96 to 98 % can be achieved by II and III catalysts. The catalysts II and III with the N-heterocyclic carbene ligand (NHC) showed superior activity and stability upon catalysts I and IV bearing PCy3 ligands. The hydrogenation of PHDL using Wilkinson catalyst [RhCl(PPh3)3] was studied. The percent crystallinity of the unsaturated PHDL was 31% with a melting temperature 47.60 ºC. Stress-strain measurements of several PHDL were determined.