Chlorine Effect on Thermal Aging Behaviors of BR and CR Composites

Chloroprene is a chlorine substituent of 1,3-butadiene. Butadiene rubber (BR) and chloroprene rubber (CR) composites were thermally aged at 60, 70, 80, and $90^{\circ}C$ for 2 - 185 days in a convection oven and changes of the crosslink densities by the accelerated thermal aging were investigated. The crosslink densities increased as the aging time elapsed and as the aging temperature became higher. Degrees of the crosslink density changes of the BR composite were on the whole larger than those of the CR one except the short-term thermal aging at 60 and $70^{\circ}C$. The crosslink densities abnormally increased after themal aging at high temperatures for a long time. Activation energies for the crosslink density changes of the rubber composites tended to increase with increase of the aging time and the variation showed a local minimum. The activation energies of the CR composite were lower than those of the BR one. The experimental results were explained with a role of ligand of chlorine atom of CR in a zinc complex, steric hindrance by chlorine atom of CR, and oxidation of rubber chain.