Organic peroxides, vulcanization rubbers

Silicone, natural, and synthetic rubbers have been used for the fabrication of implants. Natural rubber is made mostly from the latex of the Hevea brasiliensis tree and the chemical formula is the same as that of cw-1,4 polyisoprene. Natural rubber was found to be compatible with blood in its pure form. Also, cross-linking by x-ray and organic peroxides produces rubber with superior blood compatibility compared with rubbers made by the conventional sulfur vulcanization. 

The saturated rubbers such as butyl or EPDM cannot be cross linked by sulphur and accelerators. Organic peroxides are necessary for the vulcanization of these rubbers. When the peroxides decompose, free radicals are formed on the polymer chains and these chains can then combine to form cross links of the type where only carbon-carbon bonds are formed, unlike in sulphur vulcanization. These carbon-carbon bonds are quite stable ones. Such bonds are also formed by vulcanization using gamma or x-ray radiation of compounded rubbers. Some rubbers can be vulcanized by the use of certain bisfunctional compounds which form bridge type cross... 

The EPM rubbers, being completely saturated, require organic peroxides or radiation for vulcanization. The EPDM terpolymers can be vulcanized with peroxides, radiation, or sulfur. 

The accelerated-sulfur vulcanization of these rubbers along with the vulcanization of other rubbers, which are vulcanized by closely related technology, comprises more than 90% of all vulcanization. These rubbers include ethylene-propylene-diene-monomer rubber (EPDM), butyl rubber (HR), halobutyl rubbers, and nitrile rubber (NBR). Nevertheless, we give some consideration to vulcanization by the action of other vulcanization agents such as organic peroxides, phenolic curatives, and quinoid curatives. 

Since EPR rubber molecules do not contain unsaturation, they can be vulcanized only by organic peroxide curing systems. If a third monomer is added during the polymerization, i.e., a diene monomer (wherein only one of the two double bonds takes part in the polymerization), unsaturation can be introduced into the molecule, and it can then be vulcanized by accelerated sulfur curing systems. A chemical structure for ethylene-propylene-diene-monomer (EPDM) rubbers can be expressed as follows ... 

Technologically, the most important methods of vulcanizing natural rubber are by the use of accelerated sulphur systems and organic peroxides and only these methods are considered in this section. 

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