SpringerLink
Log in

Colloidal properties of epoxidized natural rubber latex prepared via membrane separation technology

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Rubber Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

To date, epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) latex is still far from being commercially available for the production of dipped latex goods although the process was reported in 1922. Therefore, the objective of this work is to establish an understanding on the colloidal properties of ENR latex and relate them to coagulation and film formation. To do so, ENR latex was first prepared from low ammonia preserved natural rubber (LATZ) latex and then concentrated (C-ENR) using a patented process via membrane separation technology. NMR was used to determine the epoxidation level and ring opening in the ENR latex. The LATZ latex and both epoxidized latexes (ENR and C-ENR) were characterized for their particle size distribution, morphology, zeta potential and rheological properties. NMR analysis revealed an epoxidation level of 26% with < 2% ring opening. Particle size analysis showed C-ENR latex to have a narrow size distribution with no flocculation upon sonication. Zeta potential analysis as a function of pH showed a lower isoelectric point for C-ENR latex compared to LATZ latex. Zeta potential was also low for C-ENR latex compared to LATZ latex above pH 5 indicating an outward shift in the shear plane of the latex particle due to adsorption of the nonionic surfactant. Rheology of the latexes was studied using steady-state and oscillatory measurements. Elastic overshoot was observed for C-ENR latex at volume fraction (ϕ) of 0.490–0.584 indicating strong particle–particle interaction. The calculated maximum packing fraction (ϕp) of C-ENR latex was 0.721 compared to the ϕp of 0.815 for LATZ latex. The lower ϕp was attributed to the adsorbed nonionic surfactant layer on C-ENR latex particles. Oscillatory measurements showed that C-ENR latex behaved as dominantly elastic material from ϕ of 0.4975–0.584. At ϕ of 0.497 (= 48.5 wt%), the adsorbed polymer layers start to interact with each other. At this ϕ, the calculated adsorbed nonionic surfactant layer thickness (Δ) was 35 nm. As the latex concentration was increased, the latex became more elastic due to the interpenetration and compression of the surfactant layers. At the highest latex ϕ of 0.584 (= 57.6 wt%), tan δ was 0.3 resulting in an Δ of 20 nm. This thick layer of adsorbed surfactant hinders the coagulation of particles by salt during dip** thereby prohibiting the film formation process required to make the latex dipped products.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
EUR 32.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or Ebook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price includes VAT (United Kingdom)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Pummer R, Burkard PA (1922) Über kautschuk. Eur J Inorg Chem 55(10):3458–3472

    Google Scholar 

  2. Kolthoff IM, Lee TS, Mairs MA (1973) Use of perbenzoic acid in analysis of unsaturated compounds. J Appl Polym Sci, Polym Chem Ed 2:206–220

    Google Scholar 

  3. Saffer A, Johnson BL (1948) Measurement of internal double bonds in polymers by perbenzoic acid addition. Ind Eng Chem 40:538–541

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Rorx C, Pautrat R, Cheritat R, Pinagzi C (1964) Epoxidation of 1,4 cis-polyisoprenes. Compt Rend Seances Acad Sci 258:5442–5445

    Google Scholar 

  5. Mairs JA, Todd J (1932) The oxidation of caoutchouc, gutta-percha and balata with hydrogen peroxide. J Chem Soc 386–399

  6. Colclough T (1962) New method of modifying natural rubber. Trans Inst Rubber Ind 38:11

    Google Scholar 

  7. Gelling I (1991) Epoxidised natural rubber. J Nat Rubber Res 6(3):184–205

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Farley PS, Banthorpe DV, Porter M (1992) Effect of adventitious iron on epoxidation of natural rubber latex. J Nat Rubb Res 7(3):157–167

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Baker CSL, Gelling IR, Azemi S (1986) Epoxidised natural rubber. J Nat Rubb Res 1(2):135–144

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Bac NV, Mihailov M, Terlemezyan L (1991) On the stability of natural rubber latex acidified by aetic acid and subsequent epoxidation by peracetic acid. Eur Polym J 27(60):557–563

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Ruksakulpiwat C, Nuasaen S, Poonsawat C, Khansawai P (2008) Synthesis and modification of epoxidized natural rubber from natural rubber latex. Adv Mater Res 47–50:734–737

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Gelling IR (1983) Epoxidized Cis 1.4-polyisoprene rubber. British Patent 2113692 A. Publication: Aug 10, 1983

  13. Dazylah D, Ma’zam MS (2010) Vulcanisation and coagulant dip** of epoxidised natural rubber. Pertanika J Sci Technol 18(2):421–425

    Google Scholar 

  14. Ruslimie CA, Norhanifah MY, Fatimah RMR, Asrul M (2015). Effect of pre-vulcanization time on the latex particles, surface morphology and strength of epoxidised natural rubber films, CAMS-2015: 3rd International Conference on Chemical, Agricultural and Medical Sciences, 10-11 Dec 2015 Singapore, pp 64–69

  15. Epoxidised Natural Rubber, Malaysian Rubber Research and Development Board, 1983

  16. Blackley DC (1997) Polymer latices science and technology: types of latices, vol 2. Chapman and Hall, London

    Book  Google Scholar 

  17. Devaraj V, Zairossani MN, Pretibaa S (2006) Membrane separation as a cleaner processing technology for natural raw rubber processing. J Appl Mem Sci Technol 4:13–22

    Google Scholar 

  18. Mohd Nor Z, Devaraj V, Rasdi FRM, Rahim MAA, Dazylah D (2017). Epoxidised natural rubber (ENRL) concentrate in dipped product application. P12017700457

  19. Devaraj V, Zairossani M, Preetiba S, Aimi I (2012) An ultrafiltration system for concentration of latices and a process utilizing the system. Malaysian Patent Application No. PI 2012004868

  20. ISO (2014) ISO 124 Latex, rubber—determination of total solids content

  21. ISO (2005). ISO 126 Natural rubber latex concentrate—determination of dry rubber content

  22. ISO (2011). ISO 125 Natural rubber latex concentrate—determination of alkalinity

  23. MRB In-house Test Method UPB/P/022 (2017) Determination of epoxidised level via proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, Malaysian Rubber Board

  24. Hunter RJ (1981) Zeta potential in colloid science: principles and applications. Academic Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  25. Manroshan S (2018) The colloidal properties of commercial natural rubber latex concentrates. J Rubb Res 21(2):119–134

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Kronberg B (2001) Chapter 22: measuring adsorption. In: Holmberg K (ed) Handbook of applied surface and colloid chemistry. Wiley, England

    Google Scholar 

  27. Vincent B (1974) The effect of adsorbed polymers on dispersion stability. Adv Colloid Interface Sci 4:193–277

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Bingham EC (1922) Fluidity and plasticity. McGraw-Hill, New York

    Google Scholar 

  29. Quemada D (1998) Rheological modeling of complex fluids. I. The concept of effective volume fraction revisited. Eur Phys J AP 1:119–127

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Pestridge C, Tadros ThF (1988) Rheological investigation of depletion flocculation of concentrated sterically stabilized polystyrene latex dispersions. Coll Surf 31:325–346

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Nestor J, Obiols-Rabasa M, Esquena J, Solans C, Levecke B, Booten K, Tadros ThF (2008) Viscoelastic properties of polystyrene and poly(methyl methacrylate) dispersions sterically stabilized by hydrophobically modified inulin (polyfructose) polymeric surfactant. J Colloid Interface Sci 319:152–159

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Director General of Malaysian Rubber Board for permission to publish this paper. The assistances rendered by Mr. Hishamudin Samat for the preparation of ENR and C-ENR latexes, Miss Fauziah Jalani for the colloidal properties characterization of the latexes and Mr. Suhaimi Mohamed for SEM analysis are highly appreciated. The authors would also like to acknowledge Veronica Charlotte for language editing. This work was made possible through funding provided by the Malaysian Rubber Board Internal Grant S2019/Ekoprena/2019 (36)/719.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rubber Research Institute of Malaysia, Malaysian Rubber Board, 47000, Sungai Buloh, Selangor, Malaysia

    Manroshan Singh & Fatimah Rubaizah Mohd Rasdi

Authors
  1. Manroshan Singh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Fatimah Rubaizah Mohd Rasdi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Manroshan Singh.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

We declare that we do not have any commercial or associate interest that represents a conflict of interest in connection with the work submitted.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Singh, M., Mohd Rasdi, F.R. Colloidal properties of epoxidized natural rubber latex prepared via membrane separation technology. J Rubber Res 22, 153–167 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42464-019-00029-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42464-019-00029-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation