Abstract
A series of new environment-friendly plasticizers was synthesized from castor oil and used to plasticize nitrile rubber (NBR). The test results showed that tensile strength, elongation at break, and tear strength of NBR vulcanizates plasticized by castor oil-based plasticizers were found to be better than that of dioctyl phthalate (DOP). The aging test taken demonstrated that the castor oil-based plasticizers could improve the hot air and oil aging resistance of NBR vulcanizates. The thermal stability test illustrated that castor oil-based plasticizers enhanced the thermal stability of NBR vulcanizates, and the initial decomposition temperatures (T10%) were about 100 °C higher than that of DOP. In general, the studies manifested that EACO and EBCO can replace DOP to plasticize NBR and are used in fields that require high mechanical properties, aging resistance, and thermal stability. This study emphasizes the effects of sustainable, cost-effective, and high-efficiency plasticizers on NBR.
Highlights
Nitrile rubber (NBR) is an unsaturated copolymer prepared by the emulsion polymerization of acrylonitrile and butadiene; it offers good oil, chemical, and abrasion resistance
Epoxy Acetylated Castor Oil (EACO), and Epoxy Benzoyl Castor Oil (EBCO) spectra were associated with weakening of the carbon-carbon double bands, while the signals in the 2.95–3.15 ppm were associated with the epoxy groups bands, which indicated that most of the carbon-carbon double bonds had been oxidized into epoxy groups during the epoxidation reaction
The mechanical properties of the vulcanizates illustrated that tensile strength, elongation break, and tear strength of the NBR vulcanizates plasticized by castor oil-based plasticizers were at all break, and tear strength of the NBR vulcanizates plasticized by castor oil-based plasticizers were all found to be improved, when compared to dioctyl phthalate (DOP)
Summary
Nitrile rubber (NBR) is an unsaturated copolymer prepared by the emulsion polymerization of acrylonitrile and butadiene; it offers good oil, chemical, and abrasion resistance. The plasticizers commonly used in NBR are mainly phthalate esters, which contain ester bonds that can form hydrogen bonds with the cyano groups in the NBR molecule to make plasticizers; offering the copolymer good compatibility [5]. Known as oil grown on land, is an inedible oil mainly produced in Asia and Africa [17]. It is unique because it carries a special ricinoleic acid, which has an 18-carbon backbone with a hydroxy group on the 12-carbon atom and a cis double bond between carbons 9 and 10. The hydroxyl in castor oil molecule can undergo esterification to obtain more polar groups to improve its compatibility with polar materials such as PVC and NBR.
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