Oxidative and Nonoxidative Thermal Degradation of Rubber
Abstract The mechanical properties of rubber often undergo a marked change on heating, with deterioration of its elasticity and strength as a result. This behavior is a problem not merely where rubber is used in surroundings of prevailing high temperature; arguments can be advanced to show that thermal deterioration may influence to some extent as seemingly remote a property as wear. The behavior of rubber exposed to heat is strongly influenced by the presence or absence of oxygen. When an ordinary rubber vulcanizate is heated to, say, 100° C in the presence of oxygen or air, it undergoes substantial changes in a comparatively short time. Yet the effects may be similar in the absence of oxygen at temperatures 60° to 100° C higher. The inference is that, although a given rubber heated in air to 100° C, for instance, may be stable owing to its high resistance to oxidation, it may become completely unstable when heated to 180° C on account of thermal decomposition. This paper is published to provide fuller details of the behavior of rubber when heated in the presence and absence of oxygen. The evidence was obtained from experiments with both unvulcanized and vulcanized rubber, differing in composition.