A method of producing a powder mass for a lithium battery, the method comprising: (a) providing a solution containing a sulfonated elastomer dissolved in a solvent or a precursor in a liquid form or dissolved in a solvent; (b) dispersing a plurality of particles of a cathode active material in the solution to form a slurry; and (c) dispensing the slurry and removing the solvent and/or polymerizing/curing the precursor to form the powder mass, wherein the powder mass comprises multiple particulates and at least a particulate comprises one or a plurality of particles of a cathode active material being encapsulated by a thin layer of sulfonated elastomer having a thickness from 1 nm to 10 μm, a fully recoverable tensile strain from 2% to 800%, and a lithium ion conductivity from 10.sup.−7 S/cm to 5×10.sup.−2 S/cm at room temperature.

An object of the present invention is to provide a production method of a diene-based polymer that can control the crosslinking morphology. The present invention provides a method for producing a modified diene-based polymer having a structure represented by the formula (1), comprising a first step of mixing a diene-based polymer and a dithioester compound to prepare a mixture; and a second step of irradiating a ray to the mixture under an inert atmosphere. ##STR00001## [In the formula (1), R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 represent an alkyl group having 1 or more carbon atoms, an aryl group having 6 or more carbon atoms, an aralkyl group having 6 or more carbon atoms, a hydrogen atom, or a halogen atom; and Z is an organic group, an organic group where a part of hydrogen atom of the above organic group is substituted, a hydrogen atom, or a halogen atom.]

The present invention is directed to a sulfur vulcanizable rubber composition comprising 50 phr to 100 phr of at least one styrene butadiene rubber functionalized for the coupling to silica, 0 phr to 50 phr of a diene based elastomer, 40 phr to 200 phr of filler, wherein said filler predominantly comprises a pre-silanized silica. Furthermore, the rubber composition comprises at least 0.5 phr of a sulfur-containing compound having the structure

##STR00001##

with n being an integer from 1 to 15, and with R1, R2, R3, R4 being each independently an organic group comprising 1 to 20 carbon atoms. Moreover, the present invention is directed to a rubber component and/or a tire comprising such a rubber composition.

The present invention is directed to a sulfur vulcanizable rubber composition comprising 50 phr to 100 phr of at least one styrene butadiene rubber functionalized for the coupling to silica, 0 phr to 50 phr of a diene based elastomer, 40 phr to 200 phr of filler, wherein said filler predominantly comprises a pre-silanized silica. Furthermore, the rubber composition comprises at least 0.5 phr of a sulfur-containing compound having the structure

##STR00001##

with n being an integer from 1 to 15, and with R1, R2, R3, R4 being each independently an organic group comprising 1 to 20 carbon atoms. Moreover, the present invention is directed to a rubber component and/or a tire comprising such a rubber composition.

A method for preparing a modified conjugated diene-based polymer is provided. The method is characterized in adding a polyoxyethylene phosphate ester-based compound having a specific structure together with sulfur chloride modifier during modification, by which modification reproducibility may be markedly improved, stable process may be performed, the changing degree of the physical properties, specifically a Mooney viscosity increasing ratio and the degree of branching of a modified conjugated diene-based polymer according to modification conditions may be anticipated, and the changing degree of a Mooney viscosity increasing ratio and the degree of branching may be easily controlled by controlling modification conditions.

A depolymerizer is formed by grafting thiol groups on parts of the double bonds of a polymer of linear conjugated diene monomer. The linear conjugated diene monomer can be 1,3-butadiene, isoprene, 1,3-pentadiene, 2,3-dimethyl-1,3-butadiene, 2-methyl-1,3-pentadiene, 2,3-dimethyl-1,3-pentadiene, 2-phenyl-1,3-butadiene, or 4,5-diethyl-1,3-octadiene. The depolymerizer has a weight average molecular weight of 1000 to 400000.

A process for making a functionalized diene polymer terminated by a functional end group selected from thiol containing end groups, thiolate containing end groups and a combination thereof, comprising (i) preparing a diene polymer by a polymerization reaction comprising an anionic polymerization reaction; (ii) adding at least one first functionalisation reagent according to formula (III)

##STR00001##  to the polymerization reaction and reacting the at least one first functionalisation reagent with the anionic chain ends of the diene polymer to obtain a first reaction product, (iii) adding at least one second functionalising reagent (IV)

##STR00002##  to the first reaction product to produce a thiol-terminated or thiolate-terminated diene polymer; wherein the process, optionally, further comprises (iv) isolating the thiol-terminated or thiolate-terminated diene polymer from the reaction mixture, and optionally further comprising (v) bringing the diene polymer into the form of sheets, bales, granules, bales or into the form of a powder, wherein the thiol-terminated or thiolate-terminated diene polymer contains at least 51% by weight based on the total weight of the polymer of units derived from 1,3-butadiene, and wherein in formula (III) and (IV) R.sub.1, R.sub.2, R.sub.3 and R.sub.4 represent, independently from each other, hydrogen or a hydrocarbon residue containing from 1 to 24 carbon atoms per unit n and wherein the hydrocarbon residue may be saturated or may contain at least one carbon-carbon double bond and wherein the hydrocarbon residue may be interrupted once or more than once by O, Si or S atoms and may contain one or more substituents selected from alkyl amino, alkyl phosphino, alkyl silyl substituents and combinations thereof; R.sub.5 represents an alkylene group —[CXY].sub.p— wherein p is an integer selected from 2, 3, 4 or 5 and X and Y are independent from each other selected from H, or C.sub.1-C.sub.6 alkyl and each X and Y may be the same or different in each unit p, or the alkylene group is unsaturated in which case two neighbouring X, or two neighbouring Y, or one neighbouring X and one neighbouring Y jointly represent a carbon-carbon double bond; n represents 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8; x and y are selected independently from each other and either represent 0 or 1 with the proviso that the sum of x+y is either 1 or 2. Also provided are polymers obtained by the process, compositions and compounds containing the polymers and articles made from the compounds. Also provided are methods of making compounds and articles.

A process for making a functionalized diene polymer terminated by a functional end group selected from thiol containing end groups, thiolate containing end groups and a combination thereof, comprising (i) preparing a diene polymer by a polymerization reaction comprising an anionic polymerization reaction; (ii) adding at least one first functionalisation reagent according to formula (III)

##STR00001##  to the polymerization reaction and reacting the at least one first functionalisation reagent with the anionic chain ends of the diene polymer to obtain a first reaction product, (iii) adding at least one second functionalising reagent (IV)

##STR00002##  to the first reaction product to produce a thiol-terminated or thiolate-terminated diene polymer; wherein the process, optionally, further comprises (iv) isolating the thiol-terminated or thiolate-terminated diene polymer from the reaction mixture, and optionally further comprising (v) bringing the diene polymer into the form of sheets, bales, granules, bales or into the form of a powder, wherein the thiol-terminated or thiolate-terminated diene polymer contains at least 51% by weight based on the total weight of the polymer of units derived from 1,3-butadiene, and wherein in formula (III) and (IV) R.sub.1, R.sub.2, R.sub.3 and R.sub.4 represent, independently from each other, hydrogen or a hydrocarbon residue containing from 1 to 24 carbon atoms per unit n and wherein the hydrocarbon residue may be saturated or may contain at least one carbon-carbon double bond and wherein the hydrocarbon residue may be interrupted once or more than once by O, Si or S atoms and may contain one or more substituents selected from alkyl amino, alkyl phosphino, alkyl silyl substituents and combinations thereof; R.sub.5 represents an alkylene group —[CXY].sub.p— wherein p is an integer selected from 2, 3, 4 or 5 and X and Y are independent from each other selected from H, or C.sub.1-C.sub.6 alkyl and each X and Y may be the same or different in each unit p, or the alkylene group is unsaturated in which case two neighbouring X, or two neighbouring Y, or one neighbouring X and one neighbouring Y jointly represent a carbon-carbon double bond; n represents 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8; x and y are selected independently from each other and either represent 0 or 1 with the proviso that the sum of x+y is either 1 or 2. Also provided are polymers obtained by the process, compositions and compounds containing the polymers and articles made from the compounds. Also provided are methods of making compounds and articles.

The present invention relates to a detoxified powder composition comprising a zinc-bearing compound selected from the group consisting of zinc carbonate, zinc hydroxide, zinc oxide, zinc sulphate and mixtures thereof, and at least one detoxification agent containing at least one oxide based on a cation, selected from the group consisting of calcium, barium, magnesium, strontium and beryllium.

The present invention relates to a detoxified powder composition comprising a zinc-bearing compound selected from the group consisting of zinc carbonate, zinc hydroxide, zinc oxide, zinc sulphate and mixtures thereof, and at least one detoxification agent containing at least one oxide based on a cation, selected from the group consisting of calcium, barium, magnesium, strontium and beryllium.