NMR Imaging of Swollen BR and Polyisoprene Rubbers

Rubbery materials are particularly suitable for imaging experiments since the T2 relaxation times of rubbers are relatively long, and so simple spin-echo imaging sequences result in images having high signal-to-noise ratios. This is especially true when the rubbers are swollen with small molecules. 

NMR spectroscopy. On the other hand it was found that T2 of the solute in the rubber cured in the presence of triallyl cyanurate (TAC) increased on curing, despite the equilibrium swelling ratio decreasing. This surprising result was explained by a change in the polymer-solvent interactions on copolymerisation with TAC. 

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