Thomas Rünzi

head of butadiene rubbers innovation

Thomas has a PhD in polymer chemistry from the University of Konstanz on polar modified elastomers. He joined Lanxess in 2013 as head of laboratory for NdBR, moved to technical service and development for tire, adhesive and pharmaceutical applications and currently leads product development for butadiene rubbers

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Presentation

Multi-functionalized, highly coupled SSBRs allowing for improved dynamic properties and good processability

Current requirements for tire treads are increasingly focused on improved wear resistance for environmental reasons due to high-torque acceleration in electric vehicles. To fulfill these challenging requirements, polymers such as NdBR and functionalized S-SBRs play a crucial role. Besides functionalization technologies to increase the interaction with fillers, branching becomes more important to achieve acceptable processing behavior of the resulting tread compounds. Especially, when applying several functionalization technologies, such as combination of alpha-, in-chain- and omega, highly coupling degrees without sacrificing dynamic properties are required. Arlanxeo’s new functionalization technology allows for both modifications to occur simultaneously: 1) multi-functionalization for gaining strong interaction with fillers, and 2) exceptionally high coupling to maintain good processability