The Gel Phase in Natural Rubber

1963 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 1024-1034 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. W. Allen ◽  
G. M. Bristow

Abstract Evidence is presented which suggests that the true gel phase in natural rubber is composed of small crosslinked latex particles (microgel), whose presence is revealed by light scattering and by electron microscopy. These are combined into a matrix with soluble rubber molecules, forming the apparent gel phase. The rate of solution (and hence the apparent gel content) of this phase varies with solvent and is governed by the diffusion rate of solvent into rubber. Prolonged extraction removes the soluble component. Since the redissolution of the soluble component is very rapid, it is inferred that it is initially bound to the microgel particles by specific forces which have to be overcome by the diffusing solvent. Mastication of crepe breaks up the matrix, leaving microgel particles whose presence can be detected in solution.

2003 ◽  
Vol 76 (5) ◽  
pp. 1185-1193 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Tarachiwin ◽  
J. T. Sakdapipanich ◽  
Y. Tanaka

Abstract The effect of Mg2+ ions on the gel formation in fresh and commercial high ammonia natural rubber latices (FL-latex and commercial HA-latex) was analyzed from the gel content and 2+ content after treatment with (NH4)2SO4. The gel content of rubber from commercial HA-latex decreased significantly after (NH4)2SO4 treatment comparable to that of FL-latex. Long-storage commercial HA-latex containing 50% gel fraction showed no decrease in 2+ content after (NH4)2SO4 treatment. This gel fraction was not solubilized in toluene by the treatment of a proteolytic enzyme in latex or ethanol/toluene mixed solvent extraction of rubber. The 2+ content of rubber in long-storage commercial HA-latex, 0.005% (w/w rubber), decreased after treatment with (NH4)2SO4, while the same treatment showed little change on FL-latex, 0.035%. The toluene soluble fraction of these latices showed a decrease in the Mn value with an increase in the (NH4)2SO4 concentration. The gel content of FL- and HA-lattices increased with an increasing storage period in the presence and absence of (NH4)2SO4. The initial rate of increase in the gel content was slow in the case of FL-latex. These findings indicate that the gel fraction in HA-latex is partly formed by ionic crosslinks caused by 2+ ions. Whereas, the gel phase in long-storage commercial HA-latex is presumed to be a hard gel predominantly formed by covalent bonding.


1982 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 1055-1062 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. K. Bhowmick

Abstract Scanning electron microscopy studies have been carried out on gum and filled natural rubber vulcanizates to investigate the ridge formation in the abrasion of elastomers. The first step of the ridge formation is the occurrence of small particles on the smooth abrading surface by a process of microtearing. Their size and shape depend upon the frictional force per unit length of the abrader in contact with the rubber and the nature of the rubber and the abrasive. These particles are not loose, and, hence, are not removed easily if the strength of the matrix is high. Further particles appear on the surface with continued abrasion. These particles coalesce to form fine ridges on the surface which become progressively thicker. Removal of these ridges depends upon the crack growth resistance and strength of the vulcanizate as well as on the dissipation of sliding energy in the matrix. Gum and filled natural rubber vulcanizates follow similar mechanisms of ridge formation. Due to low strength and crack growth resistance of the gum natural rubber, the abrasion resistance is poor compared to the filled ones.


1980 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 327-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. K. Bhowmick ◽  
G. B. Nando ◽  
S. Basu ◽  
S. K. De

Abstract A tensile ruptured gum specimen shows formation of crystalline regions at an angle of 45° to the flow lines, whereas a tensile ruptured filled specimen shows formation of depression. A tear fractured gum specimen shows again the formation of crystallites at an angle of 45° to the flow lines. Tear fractured filled specimens show the enhancement of crystallinity throughout the matrix, but the surface is rough. Flex fractured gum specimen show a large number of cracks on the surface while the filled vulcanizate shows formation of balls presumably due to coiling of polymer chains on the filler surface. An abraded gum surface shows dimple structure, while a filled vulcanizate indicates coarse ribbed structure. Addition of lignin, in general, reduces the crystallinity of tensile and tear fractured samples and increases the fibrosity of flex cracked and abraded samples.


Author(s):  
O.C. de Hodgins ◽  
K. R. Lawless ◽  
R. Anderson

Commercial polyimide films have shown to be homogeneous on a scale of 5 to 200 nm. The observation of Skybond (SKB) 705 and PI5878 was carried out by using a Philips 400, 120 KeV STEM. The objective was to elucidate the structural features of the polymeric samples. The specimens were spun and cured at stepped temperatures in an inert atmosphere and cooled slowly for eight hours. TEM micrographs showed heterogeneities (or nodular structures) generally on a scale of 100 nm for PI5878 and approximately 40 nm for SKB 705, present in large volume fractions of both specimens. See Figures 1 and 2. It is possible that the nodulus observed may be associated with surface effects and the structure of the polymers be regarded as random amorphous arrays. Diffraction patterns of the matrix and the nodular areas showed different amorphous ring patterns in both materials. The specimens were viewed in both bright and dark fields using a high resolution electron microscope which provided magnifications of 100,000X or more on the photographic plates if desired.


Author(s):  
M. Locke ◽  
J. T. McMahon

The fat body of insects has always been compared functionally to the liver of vertebrates. Both synthesize and store glycogen and lipid and are concerned with the formation of blood proteins. The comparison becomes even more apt with the discovery of microbodies and the localization of urate oxidase and catalase in insect fat body.The microbodies are oval to spherical bodies about 1μ across with a depression and dense core on one side. The core is made of coiled tubules together with dense material close to the depressed membrane. The tubules may appear loose or densely packed but always intertwined like liquid crystals, never straight as in solid crystals (Fig. 1). When fat body is reacted with diaminobenzidine free base and H2O2 at pH 9.0 to determine the distribution of catalase, electron microscopy shows the enzyme in the matrix of the microbodies (Fig. 2). The reaction is abolished by 3-amino-1, 2, 4-triazole, a competitive inhibitor of catalase. The fat body is the only tissue which consistantly reacts positively for urate oxidase. The reaction product is sharply localized in granules of about the same size and distribution as the microbodies. The reaction is inhibited by 2, 6, 8-trichloropurine, a competitive inhibitor of urate oxidase.


Author(s):  
R.L. Sabatini ◽  
Yimei Zhu ◽  
Masaki Suenaga ◽  
A.R. Moodenbaugh

Low temperature annealing (<400°C) of YBa2Cu3O7x in a ozone containing oxygen atmosphere is sometimes carried out to oxygenate oxygen deficient thin films. Also, this technique can be used to fully oxygenate thinned TEM specimens when oxygen depletion in thin regions is suspected. However, the effects on the microstructure nor the extent of oxygenation of specimens has not been documented for specimens exposed to an ozone atmosphere. A particular concern is the fact that the ozone gas is so reactive and the oxygen diffusion rate at these temperatures is so slow that it may damage the specimen by an over-reaction. Thus we report here the results of an investigation on the microstructural effects of exposing a thinned YBa2Cu3O7-x specimen in an ozone atmosphere using transmission electron microscopy and energy loss spectroscopy techniques.


Author(s):  
U. Dahmen ◽  
K.H. Westmacott

Despite the increased use of convergent beam diffraction, symmetry concepts in their more general form are not commonly applied as a practical tool in electron microscopy. Crystal symmetry provides an abundance of information that can be used to facilitate and improve the TEM analysis of crystalline solids. This paper draws attention to some aspects of symmetry that can be put to practical use in the analysis of structures and morphologies of two-phase materials.It has been shown that the symmetry of the matrix that relates different variants of a precipitate can be used to determine the axis of needle- or lath-shaped precipitates or the habit plane of plate-shaped precipitates. By tilting to a special high symmetry orientation of the matrix and by measuring angles between symmetry-related variants of the precipitate it is possible to find their habit from a single micrograph.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (9) ◽  
pp. 923-929
Author(s):  
Gaurav Pandey ◽  
Prem Prakash Das ◽  
Vibin Ramakrishnan

Background: RADA-4 (Ac-RADARADARADARADA-NH2) is the most extensively studied and marketed self-assembling peptide, forming hydrogel, used to create defined threedimensional microenvironments for cell culture applications. Objectives: In this work, we use various biophysical techniques to investigate the length dependency of RADA aggregation and assembly. Methods: We synthesized a series of RADA-N peptides, N ranging from 1 to 4, resulting in four peptides having 4, 8, 12, and 16 amino acids in their sequence. Through a combination of various biophysical methods including thioflavin T fluorescence assay, static right angle light scattering assay, Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), electron microscopy, CD, and IR spectroscopy, we have examined the role of chain-length on the self-assembly of RADA peptide. Results: Our observations show that the aggregation of ionic, charge-complementary RADA motifcontaining peptides is length-dependent, with N less than 3 are not forming spontaneous selfassemblies. Conclusion: The six biophysical experiments discussed in this paper validate the significance of chain-length on the epitaxial growth of RADA peptide self-assembly.


Metals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 163
Author(s):  
Shu Wang ◽  
Yilong Liang ◽  
Hao Sun ◽  
Xin Feng ◽  
Chaowen Huang

The main objective of the present study was to understand the oxygen ingress in titanium alloys at high temperatures. Investigations reveal that the oxygen diffusion layer (ODL) caused by oxygen ingress significantly affects the mechanical properties of titanium alloys. In the present study, the high-temperature oxygen ingress behavior of TC21 alloy with a lamellar microstructure was investigated. Microstructural characterizations were analyzed through optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Obtained results demonstrate that oxygen-induced phase transformation not only enhances the precipitation of secondary α-phase (αs) and forms more primary α phase (αp), but also promotes the recrystallization of the ODL. It was found that as the temperature of oxygen uptake increases, the thickness of the ODL initially increases and then decreases. The maximum depth of the ODL was obtained for the oxygen uptake temperature of 960 °C. In addition, a gradient microstructure (αp + β + βtrans)/(αp + βtrans)/(αp + β) was observed in the experiment. Meanwhile, it was also found that the hardness and dislocation density in the ODL is higher than that that of the matrix.


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