An environmentally benign emulsion polymerisation technique was exploited to prepare a bio based polymer from a naturally occurring monoterpene, β-myrcene. The structure of the polymer was ascertained by spectroscopic measurements. Density functional theory was employed to determine the ground state optimised structure of β-myrcene. The persulfate initiated polymyrcene possesses 3,4 and 1,2 vinyl defects along with 1,4 microstructures, whereas the redox analogue contains solely 1,4 addition products. The synthesised polymer displayed a substantially high molecular weight (upto 92 860 Da for persulfate polymyrcene) and subzero (−73 °C) glass transition temperature along with shear thinning behaviour within the experimental conditions, thereby rendering itself as a promising entrant in the domain of bio-based elastomers.

Rubber is one of the most versatile materials having myriad of applications—from niche rubber band and eraser to highly engineered spacecraft seal. Of late, the glittering concept of “sustainability” has been able to infiltrate within the domain of elastomer science and technology to a significant extent ‐ in both academia and industry. This fervent context thus necessitates a systematic documentation of brief history, present research scenario and future perspective of sustainable developments in this field. The present review aims to portray a panoramic sketch of various sustainable rubbers and functional rubber additives in this field and intends to provide a direction to their plausible future developments. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci.2018,135, 45701.