Abstract
Abstract Natural rubber when it degrades under the action of oxygen does so primarily by a chain scission reaction. A technique has been developed by Tobolsky and coworkers for assessing the magnitude of this chain scission reaction in vulcanizates by means of continuous stress relaxation measurements. Since the result of the oxygen attack on the rubber is a chain scission reaction, the question of the efficiency of the reaction comes to mind. The influence of antioxidants is of importance in this regard as is the type of vulcanizate or network structure. This paper describes some measurements of the chain scission efficiency of a simple benzothiazolyl disulfide (MBTS) vulcanizate and the effect of several antioxidants on this chain scission reaction. Some of the complications inherent in this type of measurement are discussed. The first published report on the efficiency of the chain scission reaction in vulcanizates was given by Tobolsky, Metz, and Mesrobian in 1950. A more recent publication is that of Baxter, Potts, and Vodden in 1955. Tobolsky has interpreted the stress decay of gum vulcanizates at elevated temperatures as a direct consequence of the cutting of polymer chains of the network. The reduced stress is postulated as being equal to the chain density ratio:
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