Natural rubber (NR) has restricted its application due
to its potential
for thermal- and oil-resistant materials. The weakness of NR can be
eliminated by chemical modification to enhance aging properties. Formic
acid and hydrogen peroxide have been used to prepare partially epoxidized
natural rubber (ENR) in the latex state. Its residual unsaturated
units were then modified using hydrazine and hydrogen peroxide to
obtain hydrogenated ENR (HENR). 1H-NMR characterized the
resulting products. NR and modified NRs were compounded and then vulcanized
using a conventional milling process. This paper compares NR, ENR
having 49.5% epoxide group content, and HENR having 49.5% epoxide
group content and 24% hydrogenation degree in terms of tensile, thermal,
oil, and ozone properties. Morphology and lifetime prediction were
studied. Overall results show that the tensile strength of the HENR
composite (14.7 MPa) was 79 and 71% lower than that of ENR (18.6 MPa)
and NR (20.8 MPa) composites, respectively. In contrast, the modulus
at 100% elongation of the HENR composite (2.0 MPa) was 167 and 200%
higher than that of ENR (1.2 MPa) and NR (1.0 MPa) composites, respectively.
Morphological studies of the tensile fractured surface of the vulcanizates,
using scanning electron microscopy, confirmed a shift from ductility
failure to brittle with the presence of the epoxide groups and low
unsaturated bonds in the backbone chain. The results demonstrated
that HENR could act as an ideal material, providing better thermal,
oil, and ozone resistances while maintaining the mechanical properties
of the rubber. The kinetic analyses of the thermal degradation of
NR, ENR, and HENR were studied using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA)
at three heating rates. Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose (KAS)
was employed to calculate the activation energy (E
a). The obtained data were used to predict the lifetime
under the established temperature range and 0.05 conversion level.
Overall, the results represented that HENR had a longer lifetime than
NR and ENR for a temperature range between 25 and 200 °C, indicating
that HENR had excellent thermal stability than NR and ENR. Therefore,
the HENR should extend the applications to include gaskets and seals,
especially for the automotive and oil industries.