Influence of vulcanization temperature on the cure kinetics and on the microstructural properties in natural rubber/styrene-butadiene rubber blends prepared by solution mixing

Determination of the most significant rubber components influencing the hardness of natural rubber (NR) using various statistical methods

Manufacturers use a large number of components in the production of modern rubber products. The selection of the constituents of the rubber recipe is primarily determined by the purpose of use. The different fields of applications of rubbers require the presence of appropriate mechanical properties. In this respect, it can be useful to know which substances forming the rubber recipe have significant influence on the different mechanical properties. In this study, the statistical analysis of the influence of rubber components on the hardness of natural rubber (NR) is proposed based on literature review. Based on the literature data, various statistical analyses, like linear regression, constrained linear regression, Ridge regression, Ridge sparse regression and binary classification decision trees were performed to determine which rubber components have the most significant effect on the hardness. In the statistical analyses, the effect of a total of 42 constituents of rubber compound on hardness was investigated. Most of the applied statistical methods confirmed that the traditional frequently used rubber components, such as carbon black and sulfur, have a primary effect on the hardness. However, the substances forming the rubber compound that are not widely used in practice or newly developed components appear differently in the lists of significant additives obtained by the different statistical methods.

CHANGES IN THE MECHANICAL, MICRO-, AND NANO-STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF REINFORCED VULCANIZED NATURAL RUBBER COMPOUNDS: THEIR DEPENDENCE ON THE SiO2/CB RATIO

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Zinc Complexes with 1,3-Diketones as Activators for Sulfur Vulcanization of Styrene-Butadiene Elastomer Filled with Carbon Black

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (N-ZnO) and zinc complexes with 1,3-diketones of different structures were applied instead of microsized zinc oxide (M-ZnO) to activate the sulfur vulcanization of styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR). The influence of vulcanization activators on the cure characteristics of rubber compounds, as well as crosslink density and functional properties of SBR vulcanizates, such as tensile properties, hardness, damping behavior, thermal stability and resistance to thermo-oxidative aging was explored. Applying N-ZnO allowed to reduce the content of zinc by 40% compared to M-ZnO without detrimental influence on the cure characteristic and performance of SBR composites. The activity of zinc complexes in vulcanization seems to strongly depend on their structure, i.e., availability of zinc to react with curatives. The lower the steric hindrance of the substituents and thus the better the availability of zinc ions, the greater was the activity of the zinc complex and consequently the higher the crosslink density of the vulcanizates. Zinc complexes had no detrimental effect on the time and temperature of SBR vulcanization. Despite lower crosslink density, most vulcanizates with zinc complexes demonstrated similar or improved functional properties in comparison with SBR containing M-ZnO. Most importantly, zinc complexes allowed the content of zinc in SBR compounds to be reduced by approximately 90% compared to M-ZnO.

Poly(acrylonitrile-co-butadiene) as polymeric crosslinking accelerator for sulphur network formation

The major controlling factors that determine the various mechanical properties of an elastomer system are type of chemical crosslinking and crosslink density of the polymer network. In this study, a catalytic amount of acrylonitrile butadiene copolymer (NBR) was used as a co-accelerator for the curing of polybutadiene (BR) elastomer. After the addition of this copolymer along with other conventional sulphur ingredients in polybutadiene compounds, a clear and distinct effect on the curing and other physical characteristics was noticed. The crosslinking density of BR was increased, as evidenced by rheometric properties, solid-state NMR and swelling studies. The vulcanization kinetics study revealed a substantial lowering of the activation energy of the sulphur crosslinking process when acrylonitrile butadiene copolymer was used in the formulation. The compounds were also prepared in the presence of carbon black and silica, and it was found that in the carbon black filled system the catalytic effect of the NBR was eminent. The effect was not only reflected in the mechanical performance but also the low-temperature crystallization behavior of BR systems was altered.

Influence of the chemical structure of cross-linking agents on properties of thermally reversible networks

It is well-known that the properties of cross-linked rubbers are strongly affected by the cross-link density. In this work it is shown that for thermoreversibly cross-linked elastomers, the type and length of the cross-linker also have a significant effect. A homologous series of diamine and bismaleimide cross-linkers was used to cross-link maleic-anhydride-grafted EPM irreversibly and furan-modified EPM thermoreversibly, respectively. Bismaleimide cross-linkers with a polarity close to that of EPM and a relatively low melting point have a better solubility in the rubber matrix, which results in higher chemical conversion and, thus, higher cross-link densities at the same molar amount of cross-linker. Samples cross-linked with different spacers (aromatic and aliphatic spacers of different lengths) were compared at the same cross-link density to interpret the effects on the material properties. The rigid character of the short aliphatic and the aromatic cross-linkers accounts for the observed increase in hardness, Young´s modulus and tensile strength with respect to the longer, more flexible aliphatic cross-linkers. In conclusion, the structure of the cross-linking agent can be considered as an alternative variable in tuning the rubber properties, especially for thermoreversibly cross-linked rubber.