Radiation vulcanization of natural rubber with polyfunctional monomers

This study presents the effect of the polyfunctional monomers (PFMs) triallylcyanurate (TAC), triallylisocyanurate (TAIC), trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate (TMPT), ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EDMA) and zinc diacrylate (ZDA) on the mechanical properties of natural rubber (NR) crosslinked by electron beam (EB) processing. Dependence of mechanical properties and crosslink density on irradiation dose was determined from a dose range of 50 to 200 kGy. The control blends, obtained with benzoyl peroxide as curing agent, were prepared by blending on a laboratory roller and the control sample curing was accomplished on hydraulic press at 160 °C. The results showed an increase in mechanical properties and crosslink density due to the introduction of PFMs. Also, based on the comparison between EB irradiation and dibenzoyl peroxide vulcanization efficiency, the experimental results show that EB irradiation gave the best results.