Vulcanization is a chemical process for converting natural rubber or related polymers into more
durable materials via the addition of sulfur or other equivalent curatives or accelerators.
These additives modify the polymer by forming cross-links between individual polymer chains.
Vulcanized materials are less sticky and have superior mechanical properties.
Although the curing of rubber has been carried out since prehistoric times, the modern process
of vulcanization, named after Vulcan, the Roman god of fire, was not developed until
the 19th century. Today, a vast array of products are made with vulcanized rubber including
tires, shoe soles, hoses, and conveyor belts. Hard vulcanized rubber is sometimes sold under
the brand names ebonite or vulcanite, and is used to make articles such as clarinet
and saxophone mouth pieces, bowling balls and hockey pucks.
History of vulcanization of rubber Although vulcanization is a 19th-century invention,
the history of rubber cured by other means goes back to prehistoric times. The name "Olmec"
means "rubber people" in the Aztec language. Ancient Mesoamericans, spanning from ancient
Olmecs to Aztecs, extracted latex from Castilla elastica, a type of rubber tree in the area.
The juice of a local vine, Ipomoea alba, was then mixed with this latex to create processed
rubber as early as 1600 BC. In the western world, rubber remained a curiosity, although
it was used to produce waterproofed products, such as Mackintosh rainwear.
Modern developments
Identifying the inventor of the vulcanization process is complex. Charles Goodyear is generally
credited as the first to formulate the basic concept. However, he never fully understood
the process. On the other hand, Thomas Hancock, a scientist and engineer, was the first to
patent vulcanization of rubber and indeed, he understood vulcanization better than Goodyear
and was likely inspired from seeing Goodyear's earlier samples. Hancock was awarded a British
patent on May 21, 1844. Three weeks later, Goodyear was awarded a patent in the United
States. Goodyear claimed that he had discovered vulcanization
earlier, in 1839. He wrote the story of the discovery in 1853 in his autobiographical
book Gum-Elastica. Here is Goodyear's account of the invention, taken from Gum-Elastica.
Although the book is an autobiography, Goodyear chose to write it in the third person so that
"the inventor" and "he" referred to in the text are the author. He describes the scene
in a rubber factory where his brother worked:
... The inventor made some experiments to ascertain the effect of heat on the same compound
that had decomposed in the mail-bags and other articles. He was surprised to find that the
specimen, being carelessly brought into contact with a hot stove, charred like leather.
Goodyear goes on to describe how his discovery was not readily accepted.
He directly inferred that if the process of charring could be stopped at the right point,
it might divest the gum of its native adhesiveness throughout, which would make it better than
the native gum. Upon further trial with heat, he was further convinced of the correctness
of this inference, by finding that the India rubber could not be melted in boiling sulfur
at any heat, but always charred. He made another trial of heating a similar fabric before an
open fire. The same effect, that of charring the gum, followed. There were further indications
of success in producing the desired result, as upon the edge of the charred portion appeared
a line or border, that was not charred, but perfectly cured.
Goodyear then goes on to describe how he moved to Woburn, Massachusetts and carried out a
series of systematic experiments to optimize the curing of rubber, collaborating with Nathaniel
Hayward.
... On ascertaining to a certainty that he had found the object of his search and much
more, and that the new substance was proof against cold and the solvent of the native
gum, he felt himself amply repaid for the past, and quite indifferent to the trials
of the future.
Later developments The discovery of the rubber-sulfur reaction
revolutionized the use and applications of rubber, and changed the face of the industrial
world. Formerly, the only way to seal a small gap between moving machine parts was to use
leather soaked in oil. This practice was acceptable only at moderate pressures, but above a certain
point, machine designers were forced to compromise between the extra friction generated by tighter
packing and greater leakage of steam. Vulcanized rubber solved this problem. It could be formed
to precise shapes and dimensions, it accepted moderate to large deformations under load
and recovered quickly to its original dimensions once the load is removed. These qualities,
combined with good durability and lack of stickiness, were critical for an effective
sealing material. Further experiments in the processing and compounding of rubber by Hancock
and his colleagues led to a more reliable process.
In 1905 George Oenslager discovered that a derivative of aniline called thiocarbanilide
accelerated the reaction of sulfur with rubber, leading to shorter cure times and reducing
energy consumption. This breakthrough was almost as fundamental to the development of
the rubber industry as Goodyear's sulfur cure. Accelerators made the cure process faster,
improved the reliability of the process and enabled vulcanization to be applied to synthetic
polymers. One year after his discovery, Oenslager had found hundreds of applications for his
additive. Thus, the science of accelerators and retarders was born. An accelerator speeds
up the cure reaction, while a retarder delays it. A typical retarder is cyclohexylthiophthalimide.
In the subsequent century chemists developed other accelerators and ultra-accelerators,
that are used in the manufacture of most modern rubber goods.
Natural v/s vulcanized rubber Uncured natural rubber is sticky, deforms
easily when warm, and is brittle when cold. In this state, it is a poor material when
a high level of elasticity is required. The reason for inelastic deformation of un-vulcanized
rubber can be found in its chemical structure — rubber is composed of long polymer chains.
These chains can move independently relative to each other, which lets the material change
shape. Crosslinking introduced by vulcanization prevents the polymer chains from moving independently.
As a result, when stress is applied the vulcanized rubber deforms, but upon release of the stress
it reverts to its original shape.
Process In contrast with thermoplastic processes vulcanization,
in common with the curing of other thermosetting polymers, is generally irreversible. The cross-linking
is usually achieved by the addition of sulfur, but other technologies are known, including
peroxide-based systems. The main polymers subjected to vulcanization
are polyisoprene and styrene-butadiene rubber, which are used for most passenger car tires.
The "cure package" is adjusted specifically for the substrate and the application. The
reactive sites—"cure sites"—are allylic hydrogen atoms. These C-H bonds are adjacent
to carbon-carbon double bonds. During vulcanization, some of these C-H bonds are replaced by chains
of sulfur atoms that link with a cure site of another polymer chain. These bridges contain
between one and eight atoms. The number of sulfur atoms in the crosslink strongly influences
the physical properties of the final rubber article. Short crosslinks give the rubber
better heat resistance. Crosslinks with higher number of sulfur atoms give the rubber good
dynamic properties but less heat resistance. Dynamic properties are important for flexing
movements of the rubber article, e.g., the movement of a side-wall of a running tire.
Without good flexing properties these movements rapidly form cracks and, ultimately, make
the rubber article fail.
Vulcanization methods A variety of methods exist for vulcanization.
The economically most important method uses high pressure and temperature after the curative
has been added to the rubber. A typical vulcanization temperature for a passenger tire is 10 minutes
at 170 °C. This process employs the technique known as compression molding, where the rubber
article is intended to adopt the shape of the mold. Other methods, for instance to make
door profiles for cars, use hot air vulcanization or microwave heated vulcanization.
Five types of curing systems are in common use. They are:
Sulfur systems. Peroxides
Urethane crosslinkers Metallic oxides
Acetoxysilane Vulcanization with sulfur
By far the most common vulcanizing methods depend on sulfur. Sulfur, by itself, is a
slow vulcanizing agent and does not vulcanize synthetic polyolefins. Even with natural rubber,
large amounts of sulfur, as well as high temperatures and long heating periods are necessary and
one obtains an unsatisfactory crosslinking efficiency with unsatisfactory strength and
aging properties. Only with vulcanization accelerators can the quality corresponding
to today's level of technology be achieved. The multiplicity of vulcanization effects
demanded cannot be achieved with one universal substance; a large number of diverse additives,
comprising the "cure package," are necessary. The combined cure package in a typical rubber
compound consists of sulfur together with an assortment of compounds that modify the
kinetics of crosslinking and stabilize the final product. These additives include accelerators,
activators like zinc oxide and stearic acid and antidegradants. The accelerators and activators
are catalysts. An additional level of control is achieved by retarding agents that inhibit
vulcanization until some optimal time or temperature. Antidegradants are used to prevent degradation
of the vulcanized product by heat, oxygen and ozone.
Vulcanization of polychloroprene The vulcanization of neoprene or polychloroprene
rubber is carried out using metal oxides rather than sulphur compounds which are presently
used with many natural and synthetic rubbers. In addition, because of various processing
factors, the choice of accelerator is governed by different rules to other diene rubbers.
Most conventionally used accelerators are problematic when CR rubbers are cured and
the most important accelerant has been found to be ethylene thiourea which, although being
an excellent and proven accelerator for polychloroprene, has been classified as reprotoxic. The European
rubber industry has started a research project SafeRubber to develop a safer alternative
to the use of ETU. Vulcanization of silicones
"Room-temperature vulcanizing" silicone is constructed of reactive oil base polymers
combined with strengthening mineral fillers. There are two types of room-temperature vulcanizing
silicone: RTV-1; hardens due to the action of atmospheric
humidity, a catalyst and acetoxysilane. Acetoxysilane, when exposed to humid conditions will form
acetic acid. The curing process begins on the outer surface and progresses through to
its core. The product is packed in airtight cartridges and is either in a fluid or paste
form. RTV-1 silicone has good adhesion, elasticity and durability characteristics. The Shore
hardness can be varied between 18 and 60. Elongation at break can range from 150% up
to 700%. They have excellent aging resistance due to superior resistance to UV radiation
and weathering. RTV-2; two-component products that, when mixed,
cure at room-temperature to a solid elastomer, a gel, or a flexible foam. RTV-2 remains flexible
from -80 °C to +250 °C. Break down occurs at temperatures above 350 °C leaving an
inert silica deposit that is non-flammable and non-combustible. They can be used for
electrical insulation due to their dielectric properties. Mechanical properties are satisfactory.
RTV-2 is used to make flexible moulds, as well as many technical parts for industry
and paramedical applications. Devulcanization
The market for new raw rubber or equivalent is large. The auto industry consumes a substantial
fraction of natural and synthetic rubber. Reclaimed rubber has altered properties and
is unsuitable for use in many products, including tires. Tires and other vulcanized products
are potentially amenable to "devulcanization," but this technology has not produced material
that can supplant unvulcanized materials. The main problem is that the carbon-sulfur
linkages are not readily broken, without the input of costly reagents and heat. Thus, more
than half of scrap rubber is simply burned for fuel value.
Microbial degradation The bacteria Streptomyces coelicolor Pseudomonas
citronellolis and Nocardia are capable of degrading vulcanized natural rubber.
References