Effect of Cross-Linking Density on Non-Linear Viscoelasticity of Vulcanized SBR: A MD Simulation and Experimental Study

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in changes in dynamic mechanical properties of mixed rubber during dynamic shear, yet the influence of vulcanized characteristics on the dynamic shear behavior of vulcanized rubber, particularly the effect of cross-linking density, has received little attention. This study focuses on styrene–butadiene rubber (SBR) and aims to investigate the impact of different cross-linking densities (D(c)) on dynamic shear behavior using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The results reveal a remarkable Payne effect, where the storage modulus experiences a significant drop when the strain amplitude (γ(0)) exceeds 0.1, which can be attributed to the fracture of the polymer bond and the decrease in the molecular chain’s flexibility. The influence of various D(c) values mainly resides at the level of molecular aggregation in the system, where higher D(c) values impede molecular chain motion and lead to an increase in the storage modulus of SBR. The MD simulation results are verified through comparisons with existing literature.