Elastic Behavior of ciss-1,4-Polybutadiene

This study presents uniaxial extension measurements on cis-1,4-polybutadiene networks of known junction functionality. The observed values of the reduced force from uniaxial extension measurements conform to the constrained junction theory of Flory. The reduced force intercept at 1/α = 0 is fully comprehensible in terms of the cycle rank of the network and can be calculated from chemical considerations. This holds even though the polybutadiene melt has a high-plateau modulus. Therefore, discrete topological entanglements do not contribute perceptibly to the equilibrium modulus of polybutadiene networks. © 1987, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.