Effect of different curing systems on the mechanical and physico-chemical properties of acrylonitrile butadiene rubber vulcanizates

In the present study, the effect of different curing systems including sulfur, dicumyl peroxide, dicumyl peroxide/coagent and radiation/coagent on the mechanical and physico-chemical properties of acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) was studied. In order to correlate, the effect of curing systems on rubber, the comparison was carried out at comparable value of volume fraction of rubber in swollen gel (Vr) for NBR vulcanizates. Mechanical properties like tensile strength, elongation at break, modulus, Young’s modulus, tearing strength and abrasion loss of vulcanizates have been followed up for comparison. In addition, physico-chemical properties like swelling ratio, soluble fraction, and cross-link density were investigated. On the other hand, the effects of fuel, thermogravimetric analysis, and thermal ageing have been studied.

The stress –strain behavior of NBr demonstrates a remarkable dependance on the applied curing system.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slideResearch highlights
► The cross-link density greatly affect the mechanical properties of vulcanizates.
► Hardness, Young’s modulus, and tensile modulus increased by increasing the cross-link density.
► The radiation/coagent cured system gave higher results in thermal stability and thermal ageing than those of the sulfur cured system.