Photooxidation of dyed styrene-butadiene and natural rubbers

Abstract

Dyed natural rubber (NR) and styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) designed for outdoor applications were exposed to accelerated artificial aging in xenon light. The aging results in the deterioration of the properties of the exposed surface material. The ability of dyed polymers to withstand prolonged sunlight exposure without fading or undergoing any physical deterioration is largely determined not only by the photochemical characteristics of the absorbing dyestuff itself but also by the polymer structure and fillers. Results indicate that dyed filled NR and SBR samples behave differently during photooxidation. The photodegradation products were observed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to characterize the changes occurring in the polymer matrix during UV aging. The fading of the dyed polymers was found to be promoted in the NR sample. Moreover, the effects of photooxidation on the dyed SBR and NR materials were assessed by the formation of cracks and the thickness of the degraded area. The degradation thickness is more important for the NR sample than for the SBR one according to environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) observations. For the NR sample, cracks appear initially at the surface and then grow through the thickness of the specimen, while for the SBR sample cracks are small and discontinuous.