The Unsaturation of Butadiene Rubbers. I
Abstract 1. The data on the unsaturation of butadiene rubbers previously obtained by using the method based on the reaction with iodine bromide have been checked and confirmed with the aid of the reactions with pyridine sulfate dibromide and with iodine chloride. 2. The influence of various factors on the unsaturation of butadiene rubbers has been checked, and the possibility of estimating changes in unsaturation with the aid of the reaction with iodine bromide has been established. 3. The present investigation shows that, during the reaction between butadiene rubbers and halogens, it is impossible to attain a degree of saturation exceeding 85–90 per cent of the theoretical values. This is apparently due to the existence of intramolecular cyclization, to the presence of intermolecular connecting bridges, and possibly to the presence of double bonds resistant to halogenation or of conjugated double bonds in the molecules of these rubbers. The reaction with halogens offers no possibility of confirming these suppositions experimentally.