The role of iron(III) oxide (Fe 2 O 3) in the cross-linking process, structure and functional properties of chloroprene and butadiene rubber (CR/BR) blends was studied. The unconventional elastomeric blends containing chloroprene and butadiene rubbers of different mass ratios, cross-linked with iron(III) oxide, have been studied. It has found that the iron(III) oxide could be used as a cross-linking agent in CR/BR blend and the curing degree depends largely on the composition of the blends. These results indicate that the curing degree of the blends is increased with increasing amount of chloroprene rubber. It is very interesting to note that the addition of butadiene rubber to chloroprene rubber improved the mechanical properties of the resulting vulcanizates. The resulting CR/BR/Fe 2 O 3 vulcanizates were characterized by good mechanical properties. Surprisingly, the selected vulcanizates containing chloroprene and butadiene rubbers had a 40% greater tensile strength compared to vulcanizates containing only chloroprene rubber. The amount of iron(III) oxide as the curing agent slightly affected the curing degree and mechanical properties of the resulting rubber materials. This should probably be linked to the interelastomer reaction between the chloroprene and butadiene rubbers occurring in the presence of iron(III) oxide at an elevated temperature. Interelastomer reactions between both elastomers may lead to improved homogeneity and miscibility of the test systems. Additionally, it has been found that the CR/BR blends cross-linked with Fe 2 O 3 were characterized by a high flame resistance. The undoubtable advantages of the proposed technology are its simplicity, low cost and incombustibility.
This paper discusses the role of metal oxides (MeO) in the cross-linking process and useful properties of chloroprene and butadiene rubber (CR/BR) blends. Iron(III) oxide (Fe 2 O 3), iron(II,III) oxide (Fe 3 O 4), silver(I) oxide (Ag 2 O) or zinc oxide were used. It has found that every proposed metal oxide can be used as a cross-linking agent of the CR/BR blends. The degree of cross-linking was evaluated by means of vulcametric parameters, equilibrium swelling in selected solvents and Mooney-Rivlin elasticity constants. The properties of the cured CR/BR products, such as tensile strength, stress at elongation, tension set under constant elongation and compression set, were also investigated. The results revealed that all CR/BR/MeO vulcanizates were characterized by a high cross-linking degree and satisfying mechanical properties. The most important advantage of obtained rubber goods is very high resistance to flame. The increase in the oxygen index value for the CR/BR/Fe 2 O 3 , CR/BR/ Fe 3 O 4 and CR/BR/Ag 2 O vulcanizates compared to the standard cross-linked chloroprene rubber showed that presented metal oxides provided a positive effect on the resistance to flame of the new CR/BR/MeO composites. Satisfactory properties of the studied blends are related to the presence of the interelastomer bonding of both rubbers in the compositions.
This paper presents the influence of zinc on the cross-linking process, mechanical and dynamic properties, morphologies and balance of thermal degradation of blends containing chloroprene rubber (CR) and butadiene rubber (BR). The novel aspect of this research is a comprehensive approach presenting a new curing agent for the CR/BR blends to increase their cross-linking density and final properties, including non-flammability and low fire hazard. This is due to the need to find an alternative to zinc oxide, which is the standard curing agent for chloroprene rubber. The regulations of the European Union enforce a significant limitation on the use of this compound in elastomer technology, due to its harmful effect on aquatic organisms. In this paper, the CR/BR composites were cured with zinc and filled with natural silica fillers (sillitin or chalcedonite) or synthetic silica filler (aerosil). The investigation focused on the morphology characterization of the obtained compounds, their cross-linking degree, swelling, mechanical and dynamic properties, fire hazard and toxicity. The structure of cured CR/BR blends was characterized via scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The fire resistance studies were performed using cone calorimetry or oxygen index methods, whereas toxicity tests were performed with the use of the FB-FTIR (fluidized bed reactor coupled with FTIR analyzer) method. The results showed that obtained CR/BR products were characterized by satisfactory final properties. The properties determined by the oxygen index and cone calorimetry methods, including the behaviors of the tested CR/BR vulcanizates in fire conditions, showed that the produced compounds were characterized by a low fire hazard and can be classified as non-combustible rubber products. However, the toxicity of the decomposition products, determined at 450, 550 and 750 °C, was very high.
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