Abstract

An investigation into the mechanism by which ethylene thiourea (ETU) cross-links polychloroprene (CR) in combination with zinc oxide (ZnO) was undertaken. This was achieved through an examination of the mechanisms of cross-linking CR with ETU and ZnO separately and in unison. Spectroscopic and physical characterization techniques were employed to probe the cross-linking mechanisms of CR using other standard rubber accelerators and model compounds with analogous structures and functionalities to ETU. These investigations have resulted in the proposal of a new mechanism by which ETU and ZnO can synergistically cross-link CR, in addition to providing new evidence to support concomitant mechanisms already published for cross-linking CR.

Keith Berry, Max Liu, Khirud Chakraborty, Nikki Pullan, Andrew West, Chris Sammon, Paul D. Topham