ABSTRACT
Since their introduction in the middle of the 1960s thermoplastic rubbers have steadily increased in their acceptance in the market. Applications of this new class of polymers include shoe soles, adhesives, reinforcement for bitumen, and substitutes for conventional vulcanized rubber products. Their specially designed polymer chain structure allows a rubbery behavior at ambient temperatures as well as a thermoplastic behavior at higher temperatures. So these materials can be processed at melting temperatures as a conventional thermoplastic avoiding the costly and time-consuming vulcanization step common in rubbers.
