Study on Organic Solvents Resistance of Vulcanized1145NR and Its Natural Aging Behavior

This study investigated the aging behavior and performance of vulcanized natural rubber (1145NR) in natural environment after short-term immersion treatment in ethyl acetate, cyclohexanone, gasoline and acetone with organic solvents. Solvent-soluble ingredients were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) for investigating the cause of aging. The results show that 1145NR after solvent immersion swells to different extent, its mass increases, and the Shore hardness and tensile strength are also greatly reduced. The solvent-soaked rubber exhibits an accelerated decline of tensile strength with the aging time. After 120-days of aging, cracks appeared on the surface of the solvent-soaked rubber, and the loss factor (Tan δ) and Tg were changed compared to the untreated rubber. Infrared analysis of solute shows that the dissolution components are complex. In the later natural aging process, the mechanical properties of the rubber after immersion in four solvents are in the order of cyclohexanone > gasoline > ethyl acetate > acetone.