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Butyl rubber—also known as polyisobutylene and PIB (C4H8)n is a synthetic rubber
Synthetic rubber

Synthetic rubber is any type of artificially made polymer material, which acts as an elastomer. An elastomer is a material with the mechanical property that it can undergo much more Elasticity deformation under stress, than most materials and still return to its previous size without permanent deformation....
, a homopolymer of 2-methyl-1-propene
Isobutylene

Isobutylene is a hydrocarbon of significant industrial importance. It is a four-carbon branched alkene , one of the four isomers of butylene. At standard temperature and pressure it is a colorless flammable gas....
. Polyisobutylene is produced by polymerization of about 98% of isobutylene
Isobutylene

Isobutylene is a hydrocarbon of significant industrial importance. It is a four-carbon branched alkene , one of the four isomers of butylene. At standard temperature and pressure it is a colorless flammable gas....
 with about 2% of isoprene
Isoprene

Isoprene is a common synonym for the chemical compound 2-methyl-1,3-butadiene. It is commonly used in industry, is an important biological material, and can be a harmful environmental pollutant and toxicant when present in excess quantities....
. Structurally, polyisobutylene resembles polypropylene
Polypropylene

Polypropylene or polypropene is a thermoplastic polymer, made by the chemical industry and used in a wide variety of applications, including packaging, textiles , stationery, plastic parts and reusable containers of various types, laboratory equipment, loudspeakers, automotive components, and polymer banknotes....
, having two methyl group
Methyl group

In chemistry, a methyl group is a hydrophobic alkyl functional group named after methane . It has the chemical formula -3 and is often abbreviated -Me....
s substituted on every other carbon
Carbon

Carbon is a chemical element with chemical symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalence?making four electrons available to form covalent bond chemical bonds....
 atom. It has excellent impermeability, and the long polyisobutylene segments of its polymer
Polymer

A polymer is a large molecule composed of repeating structural units typically connected by covalent chemical bonds. While polymer in popular usage suggests plastic, the term actually refers to a large class of natural and synthetic materials with a variety of properties....
 chains give it good flex properties.






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Butyl rubber—also known as polyisobutylene and PIB (C4H8)n is a synthetic rubber
Synthetic rubber

Synthetic rubber is any type of artificially made polymer material, which acts as an elastomer. An elastomer is a material with the mechanical property that it can undergo much more Elasticity deformation under stress, than most materials and still return to its previous size without permanent deformation....
, a homopolymer of 2-methyl-1-propene
Isobutylene

Isobutylene is a hydrocarbon of significant industrial importance. It is a four-carbon branched alkene , one of the four isomers of butylene. At standard temperature and pressure it is a colorless flammable gas....
. Polyisobutylene is produced by polymerization of about 98% of isobutylene
Isobutylene

Isobutylene is a hydrocarbon of significant industrial importance. It is a four-carbon branched alkene , one of the four isomers of butylene. At standard temperature and pressure it is a colorless flammable gas....
 with about 2% of isoprene
Isoprene

Isoprene is a common synonym for the chemical compound 2-methyl-1,3-butadiene. It is commonly used in industry, is an important biological material, and can be a harmful environmental pollutant and toxicant when present in excess quantities....
. Structurally, polyisobutylene resembles polypropylene
Polypropylene

Polypropylene or polypropene is a thermoplastic polymer, made by the chemical industry and used in a wide variety of applications, including packaging, textiles , stationery, plastic parts and reusable containers of various types, laboratory equipment, loudspeakers, automotive components, and polymer banknotes....
, having two methyl group
Methyl group

In chemistry, a methyl group is a hydrophobic alkyl functional group named after methane . It has the chemical formula -3 and is often abbreviated -Me....
s substituted on every other carbon
Carbon

Carbon is a chemical element with chemical symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalence?making four electrons available to form covalent bond chemical bonds....
 atom. It has excellent impermeability, and the long polyisobutylene segments of its polymer
Polymer

A polymer is a large molecule composed of repeating structural units typically connected by covalent chemical bonds. While polymer in popular usage suggests plastic, the term actually refers to a large class of natural and synthetic materials with a variety of properties....
 chains give it good flex properties. Polyisobutylene is a colorless to light yellow viscoelastic material. It is generally odorless and tasteless, though it may exhibit a slight characteristic odor.

The formula is: -(-CH2-C(CH3)2-)n-

It can be made from the monomer
Monomer

A monomer is a small molecule that may become Chemistry chemical bonding to other monomers to form a polymer....
 isobutylene
Isobutylene

Isobutylene is a hydrocarbon of significant industrial importance. It is a four-carbon branched alkene , one of the four isomers of butylene. At standard temperature and pressure it is a colorless flammable gas....
 or CH2=C(CH3)2 only via cationic addition polymerization.

A synthetic rubber, or elastomer
Elastomer

An elastomer is a polymer with the property of elasticity. The term, which is derived from elastic polymer, is often used interchangeably with the term rubber, and is preferred when referring to vulcanization....
, polyisobutylene is impermeable to air and used in many applications requiring an airtight rubber. Polyisobutylene is used in making adhesives, agricultural chemicals, fiber optic compounds, caulks and sealants, cling film, electrical fluids, lubricants (2 cycle engine oil), paper and pulp, personal care products, pigment
Pigment

A pigment is a material that changes the color of light it Reflection as the result of selective color absorption. This physical process differs from fluorescence, phosphorescence, and other forms of luminescence, in which the material itself emits light....
 concentrates, for rubber and polymer modification, for protecting and sealing certain equipment for use in areas where chemical weapons are present, as a gasoline
Gasoline

File:GasCan.jpgGasoline or petrol is a petroleum-derived liquid mixture, primarily used as fuel in internal combustion engines.It consists mostly of aliphatic hydrocarbons, enhanced with iso-octane or the aromatic hydrocarbons toluene and benzene to increase its octane rating....
/diesel
Diesel

Diesel or diesel fuel in general is any fuel used in diesel engines. The most common is a specific fractional distillation of petroleum fuel oil, but alternatives that are not derived from petroleum, such as biodiesel, biomass to liquid or gas to liquid diesel, are increasingly being developed and adopted....
 fuel additive, and even in chewing gum
Chewing gum

Chewing gum is a type of confection traditionally made of chicle, a natural latex product, or synthetic rubber. For reasons of economy and quality, many modern chewing gums use rubber instead of chicle....
. The first major application of butyl rubber was tire
Tire

Tires, or tyres , are ring-shaped parts, either pneumatic or solid , that fit around wheels to protect them and enhance their function....
 inner tubes. This remains an important segment of its market even today.

Butyl rubber was first developed in 1937, by researchers William J. Sparks
William J. Sparks

William Joseph Sparks was a chemist at ExxonMobil. He served as president of the American Chemical Society in 1966. Among his awards were the Priestley Medal in 1965....
 and Robert M. Thomas, at Standard Oil
Standard Oil

Standard Oil was a predominant United States integrated petroleum producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as an Ohio Corporation, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational corporations until it was broken up...
's (which became Exxon
Exxon

Exxon is a brand of fuel sold by ExxonMobil....
 in 1972) Linden, N.J. laboratory. Texas Petrochemicals and Lubrizol Corporation are one of the largest manufacturers of PIB in North America.

In 1950s and 1960s, halogen
Halogen

|}The halogens or halogen elements are a chemical series of nonmetal chemical element from Periodic table group International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry of the periodic table, comprising fluorine, F; chlorine, Cl; bromine, Br; iodine, I; and astatine, At....
ated butyl rubber (halobutyl) was developed, in its chlorinated (chlorobutyl) and brominated (bromobutyl) variant, providing significantly higher curing rates and allowing covulcanization with other rubbers like natural rubber and styrene-butadiene
Styrene-butadiene

Styrene-Butadiene or Styrene-Butadiene-Rubber is a synthetic rubber copolymer consisting of styrene and butadiene. It has good Wear#Abrasive wear resistance and good aging stability when protected by additives, and is widely used in car tires, where it is blended with natural rubber....
 rubber. Halobutyl is today the most important material for inner tubes. The butyl rubber is vulcanized
Vulcanization

Vulcanization refers to a specific curing process of rubber involving high heat and the addition of sulfur or other equivalent curatives. It is a chemical process in which polymer molecules are linked to other polymer molecules by atomic bridges composed of sulfur atoms or carbon to carbon bonds....
 by elemental sulfur
Sulfur

Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element that has the atomic number 16. It is denoted with the symbol S. It is an abundant Valence non-metal....
.

Uses


Fuel and lubricant additive

Polyisobutylene (in the form of polyisobutylene succinimide) has interesting properties when used as an additive in lubricating oils and motor fuels. Polyisobutylene added in small amounts to the lubricating oils used in machining
Machining

Conventional machining, one of the most important material removal methods, is a collection of material-working processes in which power-driven machine tools, such as Lathe s, milling machines, and drill presses are used with a sharp cutting tool to mechanically cut the material to achieve the desired geometry....
 results in a significant reduction in the generation of oil mist and thus reduces the operator's inhalation of oil mist. It is also used to clean up waterborne oil spill
Oil spill

An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term often refers to Marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters....
s as part of the commercial product Elastol. When added to crude oil it increases the oil's viscoelasticity
Viscoelasticity

Viscoelasticity is the property of materials that exhibit both Viscosity and Elasticity characteristics when undergoing Deformation. Viscous materials, like honey, resist shear flow and Strain linearly with time when a Stress is applied....
 when pulled; causing the oil to resist breakup when it is vacuumed from the surface of the water.

As a fuel additive, polyisobutylene has detergent
Detergent

A detergent is a material intended to assist cleaning. The term is sometimes used to differentiate between soap and other surfactants used for cleaning....
 properties. When added to diesel
Diesel

Diesel or diesel fuel in general is any fuel used in diesel engines. The most common is a specific fractional distillation of petroleum fuel oil, but alternatives that are not derived from petroleum, such as biodiesel, biomass to liquid or gas to liquid diesel, are increasingly being developed and adopted....
 fuel, it resists fouling of fuel injectors, leading to reduced hydrocarbon and particulate emissions. They are blended with other detergents and additives to make a "detergent package" that is blended into gasoline
Gasoline

File:GasCan.jpgGasoline or petrol is a petroleum-derived liquid mixture, primarily used as fuel in internal combustion engines.It consists mostly of aliphatic hydrocarbons, enhanced with iso-octane or the aromatic hydrocarbons toluene and benzene to increase its octane rating....
 and diesel fuel to resist buildup of deposits and engine knock.

Polyisobutylene is used in some formulations as a thickening agent
Thickening agent

Thickening agents, or thickeners, are substances which, when added to an aqueous mixture, increase its viscosity without substantially modifying its other properties, such as taste....
.

Basketballs

Polyisobutylene is usually used in basketballs. It is commonly called butyl rubber. It makes the basketball not deflate.

Roof Repair

Butyl rubber sealant is used for rubber roof repair and for maintenance of roof membranes (especially around the edges). It is important to have the roof membrane fixed, as a lot of fixtures (i.e., air conditioner vents, plumbing and other pipes, etc.) can considerably loosen it.

Rubber roof is typically referred to a specific type of roofing materials that are made of Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM). The crucial component for the maintenance of the quality of such roofs is to avoid using harsh abrasive materials and petroleum-based solvents for their maintenance.

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