Synthetic rubber properties

Organic chemistry demands much from chlorine, both as an oxidizing agent and in substitution, since it often brings many desired properties in an organic compound when substituted for hydrogen, as in one form of synthetic rubber. 

Synthetic Rubbers. Synthetic rubbers are polymers with rubberlike characteristics that are prepared from dienes or olefins. Rubbers with special properties can also be prepared from other polymers, such as polyacrylates, fiuorinated hydrocarbons, and polyurethanes. 

Between the 1920s when the initial commercial development of mbbery elastomers based on 1,3-dienes began (5—7), and 1955 when transition metal catalysts were fkst used to prepare synthetic polyisoprene, researchers in the U.S. and Europe developed emulsion polybutadiene and styrene—butadiene copolymers as substitutes for natural mbber. However, the tire properties of these polymers were inferior to natural mbber compounds. In seeking to improve the synthetic material properties, research was conducted in many laboratories worldwide, especially in the U.S. under the Rubber Reserve Program. 

Rubber and Elastomers Rubber and elastomers are widely used as lining materials. To meet the demands of the chemical indus-tiy, rubber processors are continually improving their products. A number of synthetic rubbers have been developed, and while none has all the properties of natural rubber, they are superior in one or more ways. The isoprene and polybutadiene synthetic rubbers are duphcates of natural. 

Styrene is a colourless mobile liquid with a pleasant smell when pure but with a disagreeable odour due to traces of aldehydes and ketones if allowed to oxidise by exposure to air. It is a solvent for polystyrene and many synthetic rubbers, including SBR, but has only a very limited mutual solubility in water. Table 16.1 shows some of the principal properties of pure styrene. 

When polymerizing dienes for synthetic rubber production, coordination catalysts are used to direct the reaction to yield predominantly 1,4-addition polymers. Chapter 11 discusses addition polymerization. The following reviews some of the physical and chemical properties of butadiene and isoprene. 

Synthetic rubbers (elastomers) are long-chain polymers with special chemical and physical as well as mechanical properties. These materials have chemical stability, high abrasion resistance, strength, and good dimensional stability. Many of these properties are imparted to the... 

Shock-resistant, flexible hose (Figure 40.32) assemblies are required to absorb the movements of mounted equipment under both normal operating conditions and extreme conditions. They are also used for their noiseattenuating properties and to connect moving parts of certain equipment. The two basic hose types are synthetic rubber and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), such as DuPont s Teflon fluorocarbon resin. 

Prior to 1940, the use of synthetic elastomers in linings was negligible, but the advent of the Second World War, and the consequent loss of natural rubber sources to the Allies, led to the use of synthetic rubber, namely a styrene-butadiene copolymer which, whilst not having all the properties of natural rubber, proved to have adequate anti-corrosive performance. 

Plastic elastomers are generally lower-modulus flexible materials that can be stretched repeatedly and will return to their approximate original length when the stresses are released. The rubber materials have been around for over a century. They will always be required to meet certain desired properties, but thermoplastic TPEs are replacing traditional TS natural and synthetic rubbers (elastomers). TPEs are also... 

Handbook of elastomers , A.K. Bhowmick and H.L. Stephens Marcel Dekker (1988) Series Plastics Engineering, Volume 19 ISBN 0824778006. This handbook systematically addresses the manufacturing techniques, properties, processing, and applications of rubbers and rubber-like materials. The Handbook of Elastomers provides authoritative information on natural rubbers, synthetic rubbers, liquid rubbers, powdered rubbers, rubber blends, thermoplastic elastomers, and rubber-based composites— offering solutions to many practical problems encountered with rubber materials. 

In 1839, Charles Goodyear discovered that sulfur could cross-link polymer chains and patented the process in 1844 [1]. Since then rubber became a widely usable material. By the year 1853, natural rubber (NR) was in short supply. So attempts were made to undo what Goodyear had accomplished. Goodyear himself was involved in trying to reclaim vulcanized rubber to overcome the shortage of NR. Later, as a consequence of World War I, Germany introduced synthetic rubbers, namely the Buna rubbers, which raised the curiosity of polymer chemists all over the world. Subsequently, synthetic rubbers with tailor-made properties were born. This was followed by the discovery of new methods and chemicals for vulcanization and processing. It is obvious... 

About half of the styrene produced is polymerized to polystyrene, an easily molded, low-cost thermoplastic that is somewhat brittle. Foamed polystyrene can be made by polymerizing it in the presence of low-boiling hydrocarbons, which cause bubbles of gas in the solid polymer after which it migrates out and evaporates. Modification and property enhancement of polystyrene-based plastics can be readily accomplished by copolymerization with other substituted ethylenes (vinyl monomers) for example, copolymerization with butadiene produces a widely used synthetic rubber. 

Peter J. T. Morris. The American Synthetic Rubber Research Program. Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania Press, 1989. Source for synthetic rubber needed German substitutes neoprene properties and marketing. 

Many polymer items are designed specifically to make contact with other materials. Where surface contact is concerned, two key properties are coefficient of friction and abrasion resistance. Polymers used in such applications include ultra high molecular weight polyethylene, polyacctal, fluorinated polymers, and natural and synthetic rubbers. Examples that we routinely come across include furniture upholstery, bushings and gears in office equipment, and bicycle tires. Industrial uses include the outer cover of electrical cables, and pipes that convey abrasive liquids such as slurries and powders. 

Acrylonitrile is a colorless, liquid, man-made chemical with a sharp, onion-or garlic-like odor. Acrylonitrile is used mostly to make plastics, acrylic fibers, and synthetic rubber. Because acrylonitrile evaporates quickly, it is most likely to be found in the air around chemical plants where it is made. Acrylonitrile breaks down quickly in the air. It has been found in small amounts in the water and soil near manufacturing plants and hazardous waste sites. In water, acrylonitrile usually breaks down in about 1 to 2 weeks, although this can vary depending on conditions. For example, high concentrations of acrylonitrile (such as might occur after a spill) tend to be broken down more slowly. In one case, measurable amounts of acrylonitrile were found in nearby wells 1 year after a spill. Further information on the properties and uses of acrylonitrile and how it behaves in the environment may be found in Chapters 3, 4, and 5. 

When the USA and Germany were cut off from the supplies of natural rubber during the Second World War both countries sought to produce a synthetic alternative SBR was the result, and at one stage it was the most commonly used synthetic rubber. It can be produced by both emulsion and solution polymerisation techniques, with the emulsion grades being the most widely used. Emulsion polymerisation yields a random copolymer, but the temperature of the polymerisation reaction also controls the resultant properties obtained. Cold polymerisation yields polymers with superior properties to the hot polymerised types. 

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