Despite the significant advantages of waterborne and solvent-free alternatives, solvent-based pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) are still irreplaceable for high-performance applications. This irreplaceability has driven considerable interest in developing sustainable solvent-based PSAs from biomass. To address this need, we introduced a novel solvent-based PSA system incorporating bio-based isosorbide acrylate (IA) and epoxidized soybean oil (ESO). The system was fabricated by synthesizing isosorbide-based acrylic prepolymers and crosslinking them with ESO via thermally activated epoxy-carboxyl reactions. The chemical structures and molecular weights of the prepolymers were characterized using attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and gel permeation chromatography. A comprehensive performance evaluation of PSAs, covering gel content, adhesion (180 degrees peel and initial tack), cohesion (holding power), thermal properties (glass transition temperature), and rheology, was conducted using solvent extraction, standard mechanical tests, differential scanning calorimetry, and rotational rheometry. Systematic optimization identified the IA:butyl acrylate (BA) molar ratio (0-10:100) as the key regulator of chain flexibility and the ESO curing time (0-3 h) as the primary determinant of network density. The optimal formulation (IA:BA = 10:100, 1-h curing) achieved a good adhesion-cohesion balance, exhibiting an initial tack (No. 7 steel ball), a 180 degrees peel strength of 14.9 N/25 mm, and an exceptional holding power of 7453 min under a 1 kg load. Although ESO significantly enhanced creep resistance, overcuring (>1 h) led to excessive crosslinking, resulting in network embrittlement and an 80% reduction in peel force.
The instinct brittleness of epoxy resin is one of the challenges to the durability of epoxy asphalt pavements, which may cause various failures, such as cracking, potholes and delamination. To improve the toughness of epoxy asphalts, polymer tougheners have been commonly introduced. On the other hand, the rapid accumulation of unrecycled end-of-life polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste brings a serious environmental problem. Addressing this, the research aims to explore the use of recycled PET (rPET) as a value-added toughener for epoxy asphalt binders. To obtain this goal, waste PET bottles were cut into flakes and integrated into asphalt binders to prepare rPET modified epoxy asphalt binders. The effect of the rPET content on the phase-separated morphology, rotational viscosity and mechanical and thermal properties of epoxy asphalt binder was studied. Notably, rPET dissolved in the asphalt binder, preventing the occurrence of phase separation in the discontinuous phase of rPET modified epoxy asphalt binders. The addition of rPET increased the viscosity, dynamic modulus and the glass transition temperature (Tg) of epoxy of epoxy asphalt binder. Furthermore, the mechanical properties and low-temperature performance of epoxy asphalt binder were also augmented. Remarkably, with the addition of 3 wt% rPET, the toughness of epoxy asphalt binder increased by 48%.
Epoxy asphalt has been extensively utilized in the construction of long-span steel deck bridges. Due to its thermosetting nature, however, the end-of-life epoxy asphalt cannot be reclaimed as thermoplastic polymer modified asphalts. In this paper, recyclable epoxy asphalt vitrimers (EAVs) were developed by introducing bond-exchange reactions into epoxy resin with fatty acids as curing agents. The existence of asphalt accelerated the bond-exchange reaction of the epoxy vitrimer (EV). Furthermore, the relaxation time of EAVs decreased with the asphalt concentration. The recycling enhanced the storage modulus of EAVs at the glassy stage. However, the glass transition temperature remained after recycling. The recycling lowered the mechanical properties of EAVs. However, both tensile strength and elongation at break of EAVs increased with the recycling time. For EAV containing 45
Thermosetting polymers have higher heat resistance, chemical resistance, mechanical characteristics and structural integrity than thermoplastic polymers due to their three-dimensional networks of covalent bonds. The current status and challenges in the field of thermosetting polymer modified asphalts are reviewed in this article. Firstly, classification and application of thermosetting polymers are briefly introduced, and modification approaches of polymer modified asphalts are compared. Crucial factors in selecting polymers for asphalt modification are then analyzed. Further, the cure mechanisms, preparation methods and properties of thermosetting polymers, including epoxy resin, polyurethane, polyurea, unsaturated polyester resin, phenolic resin, furan resin and amino resin, for asphalt modification are discussed. Especially, the effect of components of epoxy resin and polyurethane on the properties of modified asphalts is described. To develop eco-friendly and sustainable asphalt materials, this article also reviews the use of bio-based thermosetting polymers, including epoxy resin, polyurethane and phenolic resin, in asphalt modification. Finally, self-healing and recyclable thermosetting polymer modified asphalts are highlighted as promising solution to the challenges of healability and recyclability of thermosetting polymers in asphalt modification after long-term service.
The development of sustainable pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) from natural biomass resources has attracted increasing attention owing to their non-toxic, biocompatible, and biodegradable features. In this study, a bio-based acrylic PSA with tunable adhesion and cohesion was synthesized by a selective chemical modification of isosorbide-5-acrylate (IA) and its copolymerization with butyl acrylate and acrylic acid through UV-curing crosslinking. During the UV-curing process, the synthesized isosorbide diacrylate ester (IDAE) served as the crosslinker, effectively improving the crosslinking degree of PSA. The impact of IA and IDAE on the mechanical properties of PSA was studied. Moreover, to achieve a balance between adhesion and cohesion, the optimal composition was identified. The addition of IA significantly enhances the stiffness of PSA. Furthermore, the combined effect of IA and IDAE improves the overall adhesion properties of the PSA. The optimal bio-based PSA demonstrates a peel force of 13.9 N/25 mm and a persistent time of 6820 min, promising to replace traditional petroleum-based PSAs.
This paper deals with the impact of polymer loading on the microstructure, viscosity, thermal properties and mechanical performance of recycled polyethylene (rPE) modified epoxy asphalt binder. With this aim, rPE was used as a modifier to improve the toughness of a hot-mix epoxy asphalt binder. rPE particles were found to be highly swollen by the asphalt. Double phase separation was observed in rPE modified epoxy asphalt binders: asphalts dispersed in the continuous epoxy phase and rPE particles distributed in the discontinuous asphalt phase. The viscosity of epoxy asphalt binders increased with more rPE contents but the allowable construction time for pavement remained long. Results revealed that the thermal stability of epoxy asphalt binders was slightly improved with the addition of rPE. Furthermore, rPE lowered the glass transition temperature and increased the storage modulus at the rubbery state. All rPE modified epoxy asphalt binders performed better damping behaviours. In addition, at low rPE concentrations, the mechanical properties of epoxy asphalt binders were improved while at rPE loading higher than 2%, the results were opposite.
Improving bonding and mechanical strengths is important for the application of bond coats used in the construction of steel deck bridges. Graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) are attractive nanofillers for polymer modification because of their low cost, ultra-high aspect ratio, and extraordinary thermal and mechanical performance. In this paper, GNPs were used to reinforce the epoxy asphalt bond coat (EABC). The morphology, viscosity–time behavior, contact angle, dynamic mechanical properties, and mechanical and bonding strengths of GNP-reinforced EABCs were investigated using laser confocal microscopy, a Brookfield rotational viscometer, a contact angle meter, dynamic mechanical analysis, a universal test machine, and single-lap shear and pull-off adhesion tests. GNP dispersed non-uniformly in the asphalt phase of EABC. The viscosity of the neat EABC was lowered with the inclusion of GNPs and thus the allowable construction time was extended. The existence of GNPs enhances the hydrophobicity of the neat EABC. When adding more than 0.2% GNP, the storage modulus, crosslinking density and glass transition temperatures of both asphalt and epoxy of the neat EABC increased. The mechanical and bonding properties of the neat EABC were greatly enhanced with the incorporation of GNPs. Furthermore, the mechanical and bonding strengths of the modified EABCs increased with the GNP content. GNP-reinforced EABCs can be utilized in the pavement of long-span steel bridges with long durability.
Bio-based interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) with tunable thermal and mechanical properties were prepared by bio-based polyurethane (PU) and epoxy resin (EP) derived from plant oils. The cure reaction, dynamic mechanical properties, thermal stability, mechanical performance and morphology of bio-based PU/EP IPNs were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, dynamic mechanical analysis, thermogravimetry, universal test machine and scanning electron microscopy. Dynamic modulus, glass transition temperature, thermal stability and tensile strength of bio-based EP/PU IPNs decreased in the content of soybean oil-based PU prepolymers. However, the damping properties of bio-based EP/PU IPNs increased in the content of soybean oil-based PU prepolymers. The elongation at break of bio-based EP/PU IPNs was greatly higher than that of the plant oil-based EP. The elongation at break of the bio-based EP/PU IPN containing 20% soybean oil-based PU prepolymer was fourfold higher than that of the plant oil-based EP. Soybean oil-based PU prepolymer significantly improved the damping properties and the elongation at break of the plant oil-based EP. By adjusting the mass ratio of the plant oil-based EP to the soybean oil-based PU, the glass transition temperature, damping and mechanical properties of bio-based PU/EP IPNs can be optimized.
Epoxy asphalt is a unique representative of thermosetting polymer modified asphalt, which has been widely used in the construction of orthotropic steel deck bridges. This paper reviewed the performance and phase separation of epoxy asphalt binders and bond coats. To well understand the characteristics of the main components of epoxy asphalts, epoxy resin and asphalt were introduced. The history and classification of epoxy asphalt were described. The importance of viscosity-curing time behavior for controlling the allowable construction time of epoxy asphalt mixtures was discussed due to the reactive nature of epoxy asphalt binders. The factors that affect the mechanical and bonding properties and thermal stability of epoxy asphalt were analyzed. Cure behaviors of epoxy asphalts characterized by different models of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were compared. The relationship between dynamic shear rheometry (DSR) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) for studying the viscoelastic properties of epoxy asphalt was interpreted. The two glass transitions, damping properties and Cole-Cole plots of epoxy asphalt obtained by DMA were reviewed. Although scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and fluorescence microscopy (FM) can be used to observe the phase-separated microstructures of epoxy asphalts to some extent, there were still some disadvantages, such as the inability for observation of phase separation evolution, difficulty in sample preparation and low contrast and resolution. The principle of laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) with high image resolution and contrast was introduced. The phase separation mechanism of epoxy asphalt and polymer modified epoxy asphalts was compared. Influence of phase-separated morphology on the mechanical properties of cured epoxy asphalts and polymer modified epoxy asphalts was analyzed.
Bisphenol A epoxy resin cured with a mixture of dimerized and trimerized fatty acids is the first epoxy vitrimer and has been extensively studied. However, the cure behavior and thermal and mechanical properties of this epoxy vitrimer depend on the epoxy/acid stoichiometry. To address these issues, epoxy vitrimers with three epoxy/acid stoichiometries (9:11, 1:1 and 11:9) were prepared and recycled four times. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to study the cure behavior of the original epoxy vitrimers. The dynamic mechanical properties and mechanical performance of the original and recycled epoxy vitrimers were investigated by using dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and a universal testing machine. Furthermore, the reaction mechanism of epoxy vitrimer with different epoxy/acid stoichiometry was interpreted. With an increase in the epoxy/acid ratio, the reaction rate, swelling ratio, glass transition temperature and mechanical properties of the original epoxy vitrimers decreased, whereas the gel content increased. The recycling decreased the swelling ratio and elongation at break of the original epoxy vitrimers. Moreover, the elongation at break of the recycled epoxy vitrimers decreased with the epoxy/acid ratio at the same recycling time. However, the gel content, tensile strength and toughness of the original epoxy vitrimers increased after the recycling. The mechanical properties of epoxy vitrimers can be tuned with the variation in the epoxy/acid stoichiometry.
The application of crumb rubber from end-of-life tires and waste cooking oil (WCO) in road pavements is of significant importance from an economic and environmental viewpoint. However, the incorporation of crumb rubber greatly shortens the allowable construction time of epoxy asphalt binders due to the high viscosity of the epoxy asphalt rubber (EAR) binder and poor compatibility between crumb rubber and asphalt binder. To lower the viscosity of asphalt rubber, extend the allowable construction time and improve the compatibility of EAR binder, waste cooking oil (WCO) was introduced. The effect of WCO on the viscosity–time behavior, thermal stability, dynamic modulus, glass transitions, crosslink density, damping ability, compatibility, mechanical properties and phase separation of WCO-modified EAR binders was investigated by using the Brookfield viscometer, thermogravimetric analysis, dynamic mechanical analysis, universal testing machine and laser confocal microscopy. The test results demonstrated that the incorporation of WCO declined the viscosity and extended the allowable construction time of the unmodified EAR binder. The inclusion of WCO improved the compatibility between asphalt and crumb rubber and the damping ability and elongation at the break of the unmodified EAR binder. The presence of WCO had a marginal effect on the thermal stability of the unmodified EAR binder. Confocal microscopy observation revealed that asphalt rubber particles aggregated in the epoxy phase of the unmodified EAR binder. With the inclusion of WCO, co-continuous asphalt rubber particles became more spherical.
The bonding strength of the bond coat plays an important role in the composite action between the wearing surface and the deck plate of the orthotropic steel deck system. Poor bonding results in the delamination of the wearing surface from the deck plate. Graphene oxide (GO) possesses outstanding mechanical and thermal properties, as well as impressive multifunctional groups, which makes it an ideal reinforcement candidate for polymer matrices. In this study, graphene oxide was used to improve the bonding strength and toughness of the epoxy asphalt bond coat (EABC). The dispersion, hydrophobicity, viscosity–time behavior, phase-separated morphology, dynamic mechanical properties, pull-off strength, shear strength and mechanical performance of GO-modified EABCs were investigated using various techniques. The inclusion of GO improved the hydrophobicity of the unmodified EABC. The viscosity of the unmodified EABC was lowered with the addition of GO during curing. Moreover, the allowable construction time for the modified EABCs was extended with the GO loading. The incorporation of GO enhanced the stiffness of the unmodified EABC in the glassy and rubbery states. However, graphene oxide lowered the glass transition temperature of the asphalt of the unmodified EABC. Confocal microscopy observations revealed that GO was invisible in both the asphalt and epoxy phases of the EABC. The inclusion of GO improved the bonding strength, particularly at 60 °C, and mechanical properties of the unmodified EABC.
Epoxy asphalt mixtures have been extensively used in the construction of steel deck bridges. The fatigue cracking formed during long-term service has become the main failure of epoxy asphalt mixtures due to the inherent brittleness of epoxy resin. To improve the toughness of the mixture to resist fatigue cracking, graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) were used to modify the warm-mix epoxy asphalt binder (WEAB). The thermal stability, viscosity-curing time behavior, phase separation, dynamic mechanical properties and mechanical performance of GNP modified WEABs were investigated by various techniques. The presence of GNPs enhanced the thermal stability of the neat WEAB. The addition of GNPs increased the viscosity of the neat WEAB at the later stage of cure reaction and thus shortened the allowable construction time of epoxy asphalt mixtures. However, the viscosities of all modified WEABs containing less than 1.0 wt% GNPs meet the general specifications of epoxy asphalt materials for paving roads and bridges. Confocal microscopy observation revealed that GNPs dispersed in the discontinuous asphalt phase of epoxy asphalt binder. Meanwhile, the existence of GNPs altered the phase-separated morphology of the neat WEAB. GNPs slightly lowered the glass transition temperatures of both epoxy and asphalt and the damping ability of the neat WEAB. GNPs significantly improved the mechanical properties of the neat WEAB, especially for their tensile strength and toughness, increased by 46% and 41%, respectively, with the addition of 0.2 wt% GNPs.
Graphene oxide (GO) with 0.2, 0.5, and 1.0 wt% loading was used to modify warm-mix epoxy asphalt binders (WEABs). The thermal stability, structure of GO, rotational viscosity-curing time performance, dynamic moduli, glass transitions, damping ability, mechanical performance, and phase-separated morphology of GO/epoxy asphalt composites were investigated in the laboratory. GO significantly enhanced the thermal stability of the pure WEAB. X-ray scattering analysis revealed that GO layers were delaminated in the epoxy asphalt binder. GO accelerated the cure reaction of the pure WEAB and thus resulted in higher rotational viscosity of GO/epoxy asphalt composites. Furthermore, the viscosity of the modified WEABs slightly increased in the GO content. GO increased the dynamic moduli and T(g)s of both epoxy and asphalt for the pure WEAB. However, the damping ability of GO/epoxy asphalt composites was similar to that of the pure WEAB. Confocal microscopy observations revealed that GO was dispersed in both asphalt and epoxy phases of the phase-separated WEAB. The asphalt domains in the continuous epoxy phase became more spherical and uniform with the existence of GO. Moreover, the dispersion of epoxy in the discontinuous asphalt phase became more evident. The mechanical properties of the pure WEAB were greatly improved with the addition of GO. The tensile toughness and strength of the pure WEAB increased by 31% and 33%, respectively, with the addition of 0.2 wt% GO.
Asphaltenes tend to aggregate to nanoparticles or clusters in crude oil and solvents over a wide concentration and temperature range. In the present paper, asphaltenes extracted from the base asphalt was used as a filler to introduce into epoxy resin. The microstructure and evolution of asphaltenes aggregation in the epoxy resin were observed using laser scanning confocal microscopy. Furthermore, the effect of asphaltenes on the viscosity, dynamic mechanical behavior, thermostability, mechanical properties of epoxy resin was evaluated by Brookfield rotational viscometer, dynamic mechanical analysis, thermogravimetric analysis and universal testing machine. The presence of asphaltenes increased the viscosity of the neat epoxy during all stages of cure reaction. The viscosity of epoxy/asphaltenes composites increased with the filler concentration. Fractal asphaltenes aggregation formed in the composites with 1 mass% asphaltenes. Network microstructures of asphaltenes aggregation appeared in the epoxy phase with a further increase of asphaltenes content. Moreover, the increase of asphaltenes loading resulted in denser network microstructures in the epoxy matrix. Aggregation evolution revealed that asphaltenes particles redispersed evenly in the epoxy resin in the form of some aggregates at the beginning of curing. During the cure reaction of epoxy, asphaltenes aggregates started to agglomerate and grow to network microstructures. The presence of asphaltenes led to the enhancement of the storage modulus of the neat epoxy at the rubbery stage. The glass transition temperature (T-g) of the epoxy composites slightly increased with the increase of asphaltenes loading. The epoxy composite with 5 mass% asphaltenes had higher T-g than the neat epoxy. The inclusion of asphaltenes had a negligible effect on the damping properties and thermal stability of the neat epoxy. The aggregation and heterogeneous dispersion of asphaltenes resulted in the decrease of the tensile strength and elongation at break of the neat epoxy. However, the inclusion of asphaltenes significantly enhanced Young's modulus of the neat epoxy. Young's modulus of the neat epoxy was increased by more than fourfold with the addition of 5 mass% asphaltenes.
The impact of oligomer content on the viscosity, dynamic mechanical properties and mechanical behaviors of hot-mix epoxy asphalt binders was investigated by Brookfield viscometer, dynamic mechanical analysis and universal testing machine. The viscosity of epoxy asphalt binders during curing decreased in the oligomer content. However, the allowable construction time increased with the oligomer content. The storage modulus of epoxy asphalt binders at the glassy stage decreased in the oligomer content, whereas an opposite trend appeared at the rubbery stage. Epoxy asphalt binders exhibited two glass transition temperatures (T(g)s) for both epoxy resin and asphalt, and increased in the epoxy oligomer content. The T-g of epoxy of epoxy asphalt binder increased from 30.9 to 42.4 degrees C when the mass fraction of oligomer increased from 23.5 % to 25.5 %. The damping properties and tensile strength of epoxy asphalt binders increased in the oligomer content, while the elongation at break and toughness showed a contrary trend. The tensile strength of epoxy asphalt binder with 23.5 % oligomer was only 0.89 MPa, which was much lower than the specification required.
Epoxy asphalt binder is flammable and plenty of fumes are produced during its high-temperature pavements in tunnels. To improve fire retardancy and reduce asphalt fumes, eco-friendly flame-retarded warm-mix epoxy asphalt binders (WEABs) for road tunnel pavements were developed by incorporation of reactive polymeric flame retardant (RPFR), which was composed of a reactive polymeric brominated epoxy oligomer (BEO) and antimony oxide. The influence of RPRF on flame retardancy, rotational viscosity, microstructures, thermal properties and mechanical performance of the pure WEAB was investigated using various techniques: oxygen index instrument, Brookfield viscometer, confocal microscope, differential scanning calorimeter, thermogravimetric analyzer and universal testing machine. The presence of RPFR significantly improved the limited oxygen index (LOI) of the pure WEAB. The LOI of RPFR modified WEABs increased in the flame retardant loading. The reaction of epoxide groups of RPFR with the curing agents of epoxy asphalt reduced the viscosity of the pure WEAB and extended the allowable construction time of the WEAB mixture. The inclusion of RPFR increased the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the pure WEAB. For modified WEABs, the Tg increased in the RPFR loading. RPFR reacted into the epoxy asphalt backbone through the reaction between epoxy groups and curing agents. The incorporation of RPFR improved the thermal stability of the pure WEAB. The addition of 8 wt% RPFR increased the tensile strength of the pure WEAB, while the inclusion of RPFR slightly decreased the break elongation of the pure WEAB. Double phase separation occurred in RPFR modified WEAB: the main phase separation included the continuous epoxy phase and the discontinuous asphalt domains, in which the secondary phase separation formed with asphalt as the continuous phase and spherical BEO domains as the discontinuous phase. The particle size of BEO domains decreased with the increase of the RPFR loading. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
A convenient, environment-friendly, and cost-effective method to keep anti-icing for a long time was highly desirable. Slippery lubricant layers were regarded to be effective and promising for anti-icing on different surfaces, but the drought-out of lubricants and the possible detriments to the environment were inevitable. By combining super-high molecular weight sodium polyacrylate (H-PAAS) with polyolefin through a one-pot method, a self-sustainable lubricating layer with extremely low ice adhesion of un-freezable water hydrogel was achieved at subzero conditions. The lubricant hydrogel layer could auto-spread and cover the surface of polyolefin after encountering supercooled water, frost, or ice. Due to the reduction of storage modulus in the interface, the ice adhesion of the specimen surfaces was far below 20 kPa, varying from 5.13 kPa to 18.95 kPa. Furthermore, the surfaces could preserve the fairly low adhesion after icing/de-icing cycles for over 15 times and thus exhibited sustainable durability. More importantly, this method could be introducing to various polymers and is of great promise for practical applications.
Epoxy asphalt bond coat (EABC) is one of the thermosetting polymer-modified asphalts, which has been widely employed as a strong waterproof bonding layer between the asphalt concrete and the orthotropic steel bridge deck. In the present work, the influences of asphalt content on the phase separation, viscosity, thermal stability, viscoelastic behavior, mechanical performance, pull-off strength, and adhesive performance of EABCs were characterized by various instruments. Laser scanning confocal microscopy observations showed that phase separation occurring in EABCs depended on the curing time. The asphalt merged to form large spherical particles in the continuous epoxy phase during the cure reaction. The size of asphalt particles increased in the asphalt content. Viscosities of EABCs were higher than that of the pure epoxy and increased with the asphalt content in the initial curing stage. However, the opposite trend was observed in the latter curing stage. The presence of asphalt slightly improved the glass transition temperature and the damping properties of the pristine epoxy. For EABCs, the damping behaviors slightly increased with the asphalt content. The thermal stability of the pristine epoxy was enhanced by the incorporation of asphalt. The addition of asphalt decreased the mechanical, adhesive properties, and pull-off strength of the pristine epoxy. What's more, these properties of EABCs decreased in the asphalt content.
Core-shell rubber (CSR) is a good candidate for toughening epoxy asphalt binders. However, the knowledge of the effect of the core polymer on the performance of CSR modified hot-mix epoxy asphalt binder (HEAB) is not completed and systematic yet. In this paper, CSR modified HEABs were prepared by the incorporation of 2 wt% CSR particles with different core polymers, which were in turn subjected to viscous measurements, confocal microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, dynamic mechanical analysis and tensile tests. The results revealed that the viscosity of CSR with styrene-butadiene copolymer (SB) core (CSRSB) modified HEAB is higher than that of CSR with polybutadiene (PB) core (CSRPB) modified HEAB during curing. The shell destruction of CSR particles resulted in the swelling of the core polymers and dispersion of swollen core polymer particles in the epoxy phase in the micron scale along with asphalt particles. The phase separation of CSRPB modified HEAB occurred in the spinodal decomposition mode, which was different from the nucleation and growth mechanism of the neat and CSRSB modified HEABs. The area fraction of swollen PB particles in the CSR modified HEAB was greater than that of swollen SB particles. The core polymer had a negligible effect on the thermal stability of CSR modified HEABs. The glass transition temperatures of epoxy and asphalt, damping ability and mechanical properties of the neat HEAB were increased with the addition of CSR particles. Especially, CSRPB modified HEAB had higher tensile strength and toughness than CSRSB modified HEAB. With 2 wt% CSRPB particles being adding, the tensile strength, elongation at break and toughness of the neat HEAB were increased by 53%, 42% and 110%, respectively.