Chemical Modifications of Rubber Surfaces: XPS Survey of the Reactions of Trichloroisocyanuric Acid at the Surfaces of Vulcanized Elastomers

Abstract

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS or ESCA) was used to examine the outermost 100 A˚ of selected elastomer substrates, and to classify the predominant reactions that occur there between the substrates and trichloroisocyanuric acid (TCICA). About four monolayers deep, this surface region represents the locus of interfacial and adhesive processes. From these experiments, we concluded the following: (1) at the outermost surface of NR, substitution reactions of TCICA predominate, but a minor amount of addition is also evident; (2) addition and substitution reactions compete on the surfaces of the butadiene-containing polymers, BR and SBR; (3) no detectable functionalization by TCICA takes place on EPDM or CIIR — polymers which lack sufficient olefinic sites for surface modification; (4) isocyanuric acid or other nitrogenous residues are present on treated surfaces before washing; (5) reconstruction of functionalized surfaces may occur upon swelling for extended periods; (6) surface oxygen levels in these experiments were variable, and could not be relied upon as indicators of the functionalization chemistry.

Surface treatment of vulcanized latex soles to improve their adhesion performance in shoe manufacturing

“…It has been established that important factors in the reduction of dry friction are increased surface roughness and hardness. To our knowledge, only three papers dealing with adhesion improvement of vulcanized latex have been published [9,16,17]. Oldfield and Symes [9] demonstrated the effectiveness of the treatment of vulcanised natural latex with acidified sodium hypochlorite solutions which was ascribed to the creation of carbon-chlorine moieties as well as roughness.…”

Influence of Rubber Formulation on Surface Modifications Produced by RF Plasma

“…Several surface treatments for rubbers have been developed [2,3]: mechanical roughening [4], solvent wiping [5], chemical treatments (cyclization-i.e. use of sulphuric acid- [6] treatment with carboxylic acids [7], halogenation [8][9][10]) and dry treatments involving plasma processes at low [11][12][13][14][15][16][17] or atmospheric [18] pressure and UV treatments [19].…”

Migration of Processing Oils of Thermoplastic Rubber Treated with RF Plasma

“…Most of the most common mechanical surface treatments (solvent wiping, abrasion) are not able to produce adequate performance of oil-containing rubbers and/or avoid the migration of oils to the rubber surface/adhesive interface, which affects durability of adhesive joints. Thus, chemical surface treatments (mainly halogenation) have been used in the footwear industry to improve the adhesion of rubber to polyurethane (PU) adhesives [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9].…”