Structural Characterization of Filled Vulcanizates Part 1. Determination of the Concentration of Chemical Crosslinks in Natural Rubber Vulcanizates Containing High Abrasion Furnace Black

Abstract

Abstract The degree to which HAF black restricts the swelling of natural rubber vulcanizates in n-decane has been determined using a vulcanizing system in which the stoichiometry of crosslinking is unaffected by the carbon black. The dependence of the degree of restriction, as measured by the ratio of the volume fractions of rubber in the filled and unfilled vulcanizates swollen to equilibrium, on the concentration of carbon black follows an exponential relationship previously proposed by Lorenz and Parks. This is found to be equivalent to a simple linear relationship between the apparent and actual crosslink concentrations: napparent/nactual=1+Kϕ, where K is a constant characteristic of the filler and φ is its volume fraction in the vulcanizate. The relation has been used to determine actual crosslink concentrations in filled natural rubber vulcanizates. HAF black is found to cause increases of up to 25 per cent in the yield of polymer to polymer crosslinks in conventional sulfur vulcanizing systems, accompanied by changes in rate of cure and of crosslink reversion. All these are small compared with the effect of the filler on many physical properties.