Introduction and Classification of Synthetic Rubber
Release Date:
2022-04-30
【SUMMARY】Rubber is an essential material for the manufacture of aircraft, warships, automobiles, tractors, harvesters, irrigation and drainage machinery, medical devices, and more. Depending on its source, rubber can be classified as natural rubber or synthetic rubber.
Rubber is an essential material for the manufacture of aircraft, warships, automobiles, tractors, harvesters, irrigation and drainage machinery, medical devices, and many other products. Depending on its source, rubber can be classified as natural rubber or synthetic rubber. Among synthetic rubbers, a small number of grades exhibit properties similar to those of natural rubber, while most differ significantly; nevertheless, both types are highly elastic polymeric materials that typically require vulcanization and further processing before they acquire practical utility and market value. Synthetic rubber began to be produced in the early 20th century and experienced rapid development from the 1940s onward. Although synthetic rubber generally does not match natural rubber in all performance aspects, it offers superior elasticity, electrical insulation, gas tightness, oil resistance, and resistance to high and low temperatures, making it widely used in industry, agriculture, national defense, transportation, and everyday life. There are numerous ways to classify synthetic rubbers.
According to the finished product state: They can be classified into liquid rubbers (such as hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene), solid rubbers, latexes, and powdered rubbers, among others.
According to the rubber product formation process: They can be classified into thermoplastic rubbers (such as triblock thermoplastic styrene–butadiene rubber, which can be repeatedly processed and molded) and vulcanizable rubbers (which must undergo vulcanization to produce finished products; most synthetic rubbers fall into this category).
Other non-rubber components filled with raw rubber: They can be classified into oil-filled masterbatches, carbon-black-filled masterbatches, and lignin-filled masterbatches.
In practical applications, they are further classified according to their usage characteristics: They are classified into two major categories: general-purpose rubbers and specialty rubbers. General-purpose rubbers refer to synthetic rubbers that can partially or fully replace natural rubber, such as styrene-butadiene rubber, isoprene rubber, and cis-1,4-polybutadiene rubber. These are primarily used in the manufacture of various tires and general industrial rubber products. Due to their high demand, general-purpose rubbers constitute the main varieties of synthetic rubber.
Specialty rubbers are characterized by high-temperature resistance, oil resistance, ozone resistance, aging resistance, and excellent gas tightness. Common examples include silicone rubber, various fluororubbers, polysulfide rubber, chloroprene rubber, nitrile rubber, polyacrylate rubber, polyurethane rubber, and butyl rubber, which are primarily used in specialized applications that demand specific performance characteristics.
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