Prediction of the lifetime of nitrile-butadiene rubber by FT-IR.
A quantitative measurement method with FT-IR was proposed for a thermal degradation analysis of nitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR). An NBR film was prepared as a model sample on a barium fluoride (BaF2) crystal plate, which was subjected to a heat treatment. The absorbances of various functional groups were measured directly by FT-IR after thermal degradation at high temperatures. By measuring the absorbances, it was possible to readily determine quantitatively each of the functional groups after the degradation of NBR. By assuming that the NBR lifetime was the point at which the absorbance of a carbon-carbon double bond reaches 45% of that prior to thermal treatment, a method for predicting the lifetime of NBR heated below 150 degrees C was proposed, by using an Arrhenius plot of the heating time versus heating temperature.
Synergistic effect of hindered amine light stabilizers/ultraviolet absorbers on the polyvinyl chloride/powder nitrile rubber blends during photodegradation
The photostability of hindered amine light stabilizer (HALS) and ultraviolet absorber (UVA) on the blends of plasticized poly (vinyl chloride) (PVC) and powder nitrile rubber (NBR) has been studied with a Xenon Test Chamber. The digital photos, color differences, attenuated total refection-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectra and mechanical properties of the blends have been determined. HALS combined with UVA effectively protects PVC/NBR blends from yellowing and restrains the decrease of elongation at break of the blends. The synergistic phenomenon is ascribed to the different photostable mechanisms of HALS and UVA at different photo aging stages. The color of PVC/NBR control sample quickly changes into yellow at the first 400 h of irradiation, due to the polyenes structures that induced by the double bonds of butadiene in NBR. From 400 to 800 h, crosslinking dominates and the amount of polyenes decreases, resulting into the decrease of color change. At the early stage of irradiation, chain-scission of polymer takes the predominant place, and the tensile strength decreases. But during the latter stage, crosslinking takes the predominant place and the tensile strength increases slightly. HALS and UVA have a little effect on the maintaining of elongation at break of PVC/NBR blends. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2013. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers
Pyrite multiple-sulfur isotope evidence for rapid expansion and contraction of the early Paleoproterozoic seawater sulfate reservoir
Abstract Earthʼs oxygenation is often described in terms of two unidirectional steps at the beginning and end of the Proterozoic Eon, separated by a long-lived intermediate redox state. Recent work defines a more complicated path to oxygenation, exemplified by an apparent drop in oxidation state following the early Paleoproterozoic Lomagundi carbon isotope excursion. The timing of this proposed drop in oxidation state is not well constrained, and it is not clear how it relates to redox conditions during the remainder of the Proterozoic. Here we present a study of pyrite multiple-sulfur isotopes, supported by Fe speciation and organic carbon isotopes, from early Paleoproterozoic black shales. We find evidence for the rapid expansion of the seawater sulfate reservoir during the Great Oxidation Event at ca. 2.3 Ga followed by a subsequent contraction in the size of the seawater sulfate reservoir at ca. 2.05 Ga. This scenario is consistent with the emerging view of a rise and fall in surface oxidation state during the early Paleoproterozoic. Comparison of our new data to other records of the seawater sulfate reservoir suggests that the elevated sulfate concentrations that characterize the early Paleoproterozoic did not return until the late Neoproterozoic.