An end-group functionalized polymer having one or more end groups according to the general formula (I)

##STR00001##

wherein
R1 represents a saturated or unsaturated, linear or branched, preferably aliphatic, hydrocarbon group having from 1 to 20 carbon atoms which, in addition to C and H, may contain one or more heteroatoms, preferably independently of one another selected from O, N, S or Si;
R2, R3 are identical or different and represent saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbon groups having from 1 to 20 carbon atoms and wherein the hydrocarbon group may contain, in addition to C and H atoms, one or more heteroatoms, preferably selected from the group consisting of O, N, S and Si;
A represents a residue selected from the group consisting of O-R4-OH, R5-OH and R6-NH-R7, preferably O-R4-OH wherein R4, R5 and R6 represent a saturated or unsaturated linear or branched hydrocarbon group which, in addition to C and H atoms, may contain one or more heteroatoms, independently selected from O, N, S or Si and which contains from 1 to 20 carbon atoms and wherein
R7 represents H or a linear or branched or cyclic aliphatic or aromatic hydrocarbon group having from 1 to 20 carbon atoms and which, in addition to C and H atoms, may contain one or more heteroatoms, preferably selected from O, N, S or Si;
and wherein the polymer is a homopolymer of a conjugated diene or a copolymer of at least one or more conjugated diene and one or more vinylaromatic monomer and, optionally one or more other comonomers. Also provided are a process for making the polymers and articles made with the polymers.

The present invention concerns new precursors of recyclable cross-linked diene elastomers comprising at least one furanyl group along the chain and comprising chain-end units with furanyl groups, their use in the preparation of said recyclable elastomers and their process of preparation. The invention also concerns new recyclable cross-linked diene elastomers, their preparation process and their uses.

A wax-polymer compound includes (a) a polymer component that is a polymerized unsaturated monomer, optionally copolymerized with a vinyl-aromatic monomer, and (b) a halogenated hydrocarbon wax component. The polymer component is grafted to the halogenated hydrocarbon wax component, and the wax-polymer compound has a number average molecular weight of about 1,000 to about 100,000, A method of making the wax-polymer compound and a coated silica particle are also disclosed. A rubber composition includes a rubber elastomer comprising a polymerized unsaturated monomer and optionally a polymerized vinyl-aromatic monomer, the elastomer having a number average molecular weight of about 100,000 to about 1,000,000. It further includes a filler in an amount of about 5 to about 200 phr, the filler comprising carbon black, silica, or both; and a wax-polymer additive.

A rubber composition for tires of the present technology contains a diene rubber, silica, and a predetermined alkyltrialkoxysilane; the diene rubber containing a butadiene rubber and a particular conjugated diene rubber, a content of the butadiene rubber in the diene rubber being 20 mass % or greater and a content of the particular conjugated diene rubber in the diene rubber being from 30 to 80 mass %; an average glass transition temperature of the diene rubber being from −65 to −45° C.; the particular conjugated diene rubber being a conjugated diene rubber produced by a particular production method and having predetermined ranges of aromatic vinyl unit content, vinyl bond content, and weight average molecular weight.

A rubber composition for tires of the present technology contains a diene rubber, silica, and a predetermined alkyltrialkoxysilane; the diene rubber containing a butadiene rubber and a particular conjugated diene rubber, a content of the butadiene rubber in the diene rubber being 20 mass % or greater and a content of the particular conjugated diene rubber in the diene rubber being from 30 to 80 mass %; an average glass transition temperature of the diene rubber being from −65 to −45° C.; the particular conjugated diene rubber being a conjugated diene rubber produced by a particular production method and having predetermined ranges of aromatic vinyl unit content, vinyl bond content, and weight average molecular weight.

A rubber composition for tires of the present technology contains a diene rubber, silica, a silane coupling agent, a fatty acid metal salt, and a predetermined alkyltrialkoxysilane; the diene rubber containing 60 mass % or greater of a modified conjugated diene rubber and 30 mass % or greater of a particular conjugated diene rubber which corresponds to a part or all of the modified conjugated diene rubber; an average glass transition temperature of the diene rubber being from −45 to −20° C.; the particular conjugated diene rubber being a conjugated diene rubber produced by a particular production method and having predetermined ranges of aromatic vinyl unit content, vinyl bond content, and weight average molecular weight.

A rubber composition for tires of the present technology contains a diene rubber, silica, a silane coupling agent, a fatty acid metal salt, and a predetermined alkyltrialkoxysilane; the diene rubber containing 60 mass % or greater of a modified conjugated diene rubber and 30 mass % or greater of a particular conjugated diene rubber which corresponds to a part or all of the modified conjugated diene rubber; an average glass transition temperature of the diene rubber being from −45 to −20° C.; the particular conjugated diene rubber being a conjugated diene rubber produced by a particular production method and having predetermined ranges of aromatic vinyl unit content, vinyl bond content, and weight average molecular weight.

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 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 desulfurized rubber obtained by mixing a desulfurization agent and a vulcanized rubber, the desulfurization agent containing a compound represented by any one of the following formulae (1) to (4):

##STR00001##

wherein R.sub.1 to R.sub.8 each independently represent a hydrogen atom, an oxygen atom, or an alkyl group. It is preferable that the desulfurization agent contains at least one selected from the group consisting of 2,2′-dithiodianiline and 4,4′-dithiodianiline.