Long-time sulfenamide-accelerated sulfur vulcanization of natural rubber/chlorobutyl rubber compounds

Sulfenamide-accelerated sulfur vulcanization of natural rubber/chlorobutyl rubber compounds has been investigated at temperatures from 155 to 175°C over 0.1 to 400 min. Continuous measurements in a Cone Rheometer were used to estimate the extent of crosslinking, which was plotted against cure time. On the basis of a kinetic analysis, two first-order vulcanization reactions, crosslinking and degradation, have been evaluated. Over the temperature range studied, there is no significant difference between the values of activation energy for these reactions. The rate of the degradation is slower by a factor of 20 than the rate of crosslinking. The degradation reaction can be limited by increasing the “efficiency” of the vulcanizing system.