In this study, a new strategy for the preparation of elastomeric vitrimer based on ethylene/propylene copolymer rubber (EPR) was proposed. Specifically, by introducing aldehyde pendants into EPR chains and then adding tris-(2-aminoethyl) amine (TREA) as cross-linking agent, an associative reversible cross-linking network based on dynamic imine bond was constructed in EPR. Since the imine exchange reaction can be controlled by adjusting the temperature without catalyst, the EPR reversible cross-linking was realized efficiently in solid polymers. Moreover, the cross-linking density as well as the material mechanical properties could be tuned by simply varying the aldehyde group content or the aldehyde/TREA ratio. The association nature of the dynamic imine bond enabled the cross-linked EPR to maintain the network structure in xylene at 120 °C; while the imine bond exchange reaction rate accelerated as the temperature increased. The activation energy of the cross-linking reaction was calculated to be 57.2 kJ mol⁻¹ according to the dependence of the imine bond exchange reaction rate on temperature, which also endowed the cross-linked network with satisfactory plasticity and recyclability.

在这项研究中，提出了一种制备基于乙烯/丙烯共聚物橡胶 (EPR) 的弹性玻璃体的新策略。具体而言，通过在EPR链中引入醛侧基，然后加入三-(2-氨基乙基)胺(TREA)作为交联剂，在EPR中构建了基于动态亚胺键的缔合可逆交联网络。由于可以在没有催化剂的情况下通过调节温度来控制亚胺交换反应，因此在固体聚合物中有效地实现了 EPR 可逆交联。此外，交联密度以及材料机械性能可以通过简单地改变醛基含量或醛/TREA 比率来调整。动态亚胺键的缔合性质使交联的 EPR 在 120 °C 的二甲苯中保持网络结构；而亚胺键交换反应速率随着温度的升高而加快。交联反应的活化能计算为 57.2 kJ mol^-1根据亚胺键交换反应速率对温度的依赖性，这也赋予了交联网络令人满意的可塑性和可回收性。