Patent 7442746 was granted and assigned to The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company on October, 2008 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
The present invention is directed to a process for synthesizing an epoxidized polymer that includes the steps of:(1) preparing a cationically stabilized polymer latex containing at least one conjugated diolefin monomer in a first stage,(2) treating the polymer latex from step (1) with formic or acetic acid and hydrogen peroxide, and(3) allowing the mixture to react for a predetermined time and predetermined temperature to attain the desired level of epoxidation.