Mechanism of oxidation in natural rubber compounds at lower (ambient) temperatures
by Edward R. Terrill, Rene Meser and Barry Palmer, Akron Rubber Development Laboratory
The oxidation mechanism of natural rubber was studied using several techniques. In a prior article, it was found that the crosslink distribution (sulfur types including polysulfidic, disulfidic and monosulfidic) in a belt coat (conventional cured natural rubber compound) had a different crosslink distribution, depending on the aging temperature (ref. 1). The belt coat compound extracted from an oven aged (65°C) tire was compared to the belt coat compound extracted from a normal service tire (23°C, the average annual temperature in Phoenix, AZ).