Synthetic rubber
Encyclopedia
Synthetic rubber is is any type of artificial elastomer
, invariably a polymer
. An elastomer is a material with the mechanical (or material) property that it can undergo much more elastic
deformation under stress than most materials and still return to its previous size without permanent deformation. Synthetic rubber serves as a substitute for natural rubber in many cases, especially when improved material properties are required.
is mostly polymerized isoprene
with a small percentage of impurities in it. This limits the range of properties available to it. Also, there are limitations on the proportions of cis and trans double bond
s resulting from methods of polymerizing
natural latex. This also limits the range of properties available to natural rubber, although addition of sulfur
and vulcanization
are used to improve the properties.
Synthetic rubber can be made from the polymerization of a variety of monomer
s including isoprene (2-methyl-1,3-butadiene), 1,3-butadiene
, chloroprene
(2-chloro-1,3-butadiene), and isobutylene
(methylpropene) with a small percentage of isoprene for cross-link
ing. These and other monomers can be mixed in various desirable proportions to be copolymerized for a wide range of physical, mechanical, and chemical properties. The monomers can be produced pure and the addition of impurities or additives can be controlled by design to give optimal properties. Polymerization of pure monomers can be better controlled to give a desired proportion of cis and trans double bonds
.
The expanded use of motor vehicles, and particularly motor vehicle tire
s, starting in the 1890s, created increased demand for rubber.
In 1909, a team headed by Fritz Hofmann, working at the Bayer
laboratory in Elberfeld, Germany, also succeeded in polymerizing methyl isoprene, the first synthetic rubber.
Scientists in England and Germany developed alternative methods for creating isoprene polymers from 1910–1912.
The Russian scientist Sergei Vasiljevich Lebedev
created the first rubber polymer synthesized from butadiene in 1910. This form of synthetic rubber provided the basis for the first large-scale commercial production, which occurred during World War I as a result of shortages of natural rubber. This early form of synthetic rubber was again replaced with natural rubber after the war ended, but investigations of synthetic rubber continued. Russian American Ivan Ostromislensky
did significant early research on synthetic rubber and a couple of monomers in the earlier 1900s.
Political problems that resulted from great fluctuations in the cost of natural rubber led to the enactment of the Stevenson Act in 1921. This act essentially created a cartel
which supported rubber prices by regulating production (see OPEC
), but insufficient supply, especially due to wartime shortages, also led to a search for alternative forms of synthetic rubber.
By 1925 the price of natural rubber had increased to the point that many companies were exploring methods of producing synthetic rubber to compete with natural rubber. In the United States, the investigation focused on different materials than in Europe, building on the early laboratory work of Nieuwland
.
Studies published in 1930 written independently by Lebedev, the American Wallace Carothers
and the German scientist Hermann Staudinger
led in 1931 to one of the first successful synthetic rubbers, known as neoprene
, which was developed at DuPont
under the direction of E.K. Bolton
. Neoprene is highly resistant to heat and chemicals such as oil
and gasoline
, and is used in fuel hoses and as an insulating material in machinery.
The company Thiokol
applied their name to a competing type of rubber based on ethylene dichloride
which was commercially available in 1930.
The first rubber plant in Europe SK-1 (from Russian "Synthetic Kauchuk") was established (Russia) by Sergei Lebedev
in Yaroslavl
under Joseph Stalin
's First Five-Year Plan
on July 7, 1932.
In 1935, German
chemists synthesized the first of a series of synthetic rubbers known as Buna rubbers. These were copolymers, meaning the polymers were made up from two monomers in alternating sequence.
Other brands included Koroseal, which Waldo Semon
developed in 1935, and Sovprene, which Russian researchers created in 1940.
scientist Waldo Semon developed a new and cheaper version of synthetic rubber known as Ameripol in 1940. Ameripol made synthetic rubber production much more cost effective, helping to meet the country's needs during World War II.
The production of synthetic rubber in the United States expanded greatly during World War II, since the Axis powers
controlled nearly all the world's limited supplies of natural rubber by mid-1942 once Japan conquered Asia. Military trucks needed rubber for tire
s, and rubber was used in almost every other war machine. The U.S. government launched a major (and largely secret) effort to improve synthetic rubber production. A large team of chemists from many institutions were involved, including Calvin Souther Fuller
of Bell Labs
. The rubber designated GRS
(Government Rubber Styrene), a copolymer of butadiene and styrene, was the basis for U.S. synthetic rubber production during World War II. By 1944, a total of 50 factories were manufacturing it, pouring out a volume of the material twice that of the world's natural rubber production before the beginning of the war. It still represents about half of total world production.
Operation Pointblank bombing targets of Nazi Germany
included the Schkopau
(50K tons/yr) plant and the Hüls synthetic rubber plant near Recklinghausen
(30K, 17%), the Kölnische Gummifäden Fabrik tire and tube plant at Deutz
on the east bank of the Rhine. The Ferrara
, Italy, synthetic rubber factory (near a river bridge) was bombed August 23, 1944.http://www.usaaf.net/chron/44/aug44.htm Three other synthetic rubber facilities were at Ludwigshafen/Oppau
(15K), Hanover/Limmer (reclamation, 20K), and Leverkusen
(5K). A synthetic rubber plant at Oświęcim
, Poland, was under construction on March 5, 1944.
explosives for propellants, but it was impractical and dangerous to make such rockets very large. During the war, California Institute of Technology
(Caltech) researchers came up with a new solid fuel based on asphalt
fuel mixed with an oxidizer
(such as potassium
or ammonium perchlorate
), and aluminium
powder. This new solid fuel burned more slowly and evenly than nitrocellulose explosives, and was much less dangerous to store and use, but it tended to flow slowly out of the rocket in storage and the rockets using it had to be stockpiled nose down.
After the war, Caltech researchers began to investigate the use of synthetic rubbers to replace asphalt in their solid fuel rocket motors. By the mid-1950s, large missiles were being built using solid fuels based on synthetic rubber, mixed with ammonium perchlorate and high proportions of aluminium powder. Such solid fuels could be cast into large, uniform blocks that had no cracks or other defects that would cause non-uniform burning. Ultimately, all large solid-fuel military rockets and missiles would use synthetic-rubber-based solid fuels, and they would also play a significant part in the civilian space effort.
Additional refinements to the process of creating synthetic rubber continued after the war. The chemical synthesis of isoprene accelerated the reduced need for natural rubber, and the peacetime quantity of synthetic rubber exceeded the production of natural rubber by the early 1960s.
Nowadays synthetic rubber is used a great deal in printing textile. In this case it is called rubber paste. In most cases titanium dioxide is used with copolymerization and volatile matter in producing such synthetic rubber for textile use. Moreover this kind of preparation can be considered to be the pigment preparation based on titanium dioxide.
In 2005, close to 21 million tons of rubber were produced of which around 58% was synthetic.
In addition the term gum rubber is sometimes used to describe the tree-derived natural rubber (code NR), and to distinguish it from synthetic natural rubber (code IR).
Elastomer
An elastomer is a polymer with the property of viscoelasticity , generally having notably low Young's modulus and high yield strain compared with other materials. The term, which is derived from elastic polymer, is often used interchangeably with the term rubber, although the latter is preferred...
, invariably a polymer
Polymer
A polymer is a large molecule composed of repeating structural units. These subunits are typically connected by covalent chemical bonds...
. An elastomer is a material with the mechanical (or material) property that it can undergo much more elastic
Elasticity (physics)
In physics, elasticity is the physical property of a material that returns to its original shape after the stress that made it deform or distort is removed. The relative amount of deformation is called the strain....
deformation under stress than most materials and still return to its previous size without permanent deformation. Synthetic rubber serves as a substitute for natural rubber in many cases, especially when improved material properties are required.
Comparison of natural and synthetic rubber
Natural rubber coming from latexLatex
Latex is the stable dispersion of polymer microparticles in an aqueous medium. Latexes may be natural or synthetic.Latex as found in nature is a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants . It is a complex emulsion consisting of proteins, alkaloids, starches, sugars, oils, tannins, resins,...
is mostly polymerized isoprene
Isoprene
Isoprene , or 2-methyl-1,3-butadiene, is a common organic compound with the formula CH2=CCH=CH2. Under standard conditions it is a colorless liquid...
with a small percentage of impurities in it. This limits the range of properties available to it. Also, there are limitations on the proportions of cis and trans double bond
Double bond
A double bond in chemistry is a chemical bond between two chemical elements involving four bonding electrons instead of the usual two. The most common double bond, that between two carbon atoms, can be found in alkenes. Many types of double bonds between two different elements exist, for example in...
s resulting from methods of polymerizing
Polymerization
In polymer chemistry, polymerization is a process of reacting monomer molecules together in a chemical reaction to form three-dimensional networks or polymer chains...
natural latex. This also limits the range of properties available to natural rubber, although addition of sulfur
Sulfur
Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...
and vulcanization
Vulcanization
Vulcanization or vulcanisation is a chemical process for converting rubber or related polymers into more durable materials via the addition of sulfur or other equivalent "curatives." These additives modify the polymer by forming crosslinks between individual polymer chains. Vulcanized material is...
are used to improve the properties.
Synthetic rubber can be made from the polymerization of a variety of monomer
Monomer
A monomer is an atom or a small molecule that may bind chemically to other monomers to form a polymer; the term "monomeric protein" may also be used to describe one of the proteins making up a multiprotein complex...
s including isoprene (2-methyl-1,3-butadiene), 1,3-butadiene
1,3-Butadiene
1,3-Butadiene is a simple conjugated diene with the formula C4H6. It is an important industrial chemical used as a monomer in the production of synthetic rubber. When the word butadiene is used, most of the time it refers to 1,3-butadiene....
, chloroprene
Chloroprene
Chloroprene is the common name for the organic compound 2-chlorobuta-1,3-diene, which has the formula CH2=CCl-CH=CH2. This colorless liquid is the monomer for the production of the polymer polychloroprene, a type of synthetic rubber...
(2-chloro-1,3-butadiene), and isobutylene
Isobutylene
Isobutylene is a hydrocarbon of significant industrial importance. It is a four-carbon branched alkene , one of the four isomers of butylene. At standard temperature and pressure it is a colorless flammable gas.-Uses:...
(methylpropene) with a small percentage of isoprene for cross-link
Cross-link
Cross-links are bonds that link one polymer chain to another. They can be covalent bonds or ionic bonds. "Polymer chains" can refer to synthetic polymers or natural polymers . When the term "cross-linking" is used in the synthetic polymer science field, it usually refers to the use of...
ing. These and other monomers can be mixed in various desirable proportions to be copolymerized for a wide range of physical, mechanical, and chemical properties. The monomers can be produced pure and the addition of impurities or additives can be controlled by design to give optimal properties. Polymerization of pure monomers can be better controlled to give a desired proportion of cis and trans double bonds
Covalent bond
A covalent bond is a form of chemical bonding that is characterized by the sharing of pairs of electrons between atoms. The stable balance of attractive and repulsive forces between atoms when they share electrons is known as covalent bonding....
.
History
In 1879, Bouchardat created one form of synthetic rubber, producing a polymer of isoprene in a laboratory.The expanded use of motor vehicles, and particularly motor vehicle tire
Tire
A tire or tyre is a ring-shaped covering that fits around a wheel rim to protect it and enable better vehicle performance by providing a flexible cushion that absorbs shock while keeping the wheel in close contact with the ground...
s, starting in the 1890s, created increased demand for rubber.
In 1909, a team headed by Fritz Hofmann, working at the Bayer
Bayer
Bayer AG is a chemical and pharmaceutical company founded in Barmen , Germany in 1863. It is headquartered in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and well known for its original brand of aspirin.-History:...
laboratory in Elberfeld, Germany, also succeeded in polymerizing methyl isoprene, the first synthetic rubber.
Scientists in England and Germany developed alternative methods for creating isoprene polymers from 1910–1912.
The Russian scientist Sergei Vasiljevich Lebedev
Sergei Vasiljevich Lebedev
Sergei Vasiljevich Lebedev was a Russian/Soviet chemist and the inventor of the polybutadiene synthetic rubber, the first commercially viable and mass-produced type of synthetic rubber.- Biography :...
created the first rubber polymer synthesized from butadiene in 1910. This form of synthetic rubber provided the basis for the first large-scale commercial production, which occurred during World War I as a result of shortages of natural rubber. This early form of synthetic rubber was again replaced with natural rubber after the war ended, but investigations of synthetic rubber continued. Russian American Ivan Ostromislensky
Ivan Ostromislensky
Ivan Ivanovich Ostromislensky was a Russian organic chemist. He is credited as the pioneer in studying polymerization of synthetic rubber as well as inventor of various industrial technologies for production of synthetic rubber, polymers and pharmaceuticals.-Early life:Ostromislensky was born in...
did significant early research on synthetic rubber and a couple of monomers in the earlier 1900s.
Political problems that resulted from great fluctuations in the cost of natural rubber led to the enactment of the Stevenson Act in 1921. This act essentially created a cartel
Cartel
A cartel is a formal agreement among competing firms. It is a formal organization of producers and manufacturers that agree to fix prices, marketing, and production. Cartels usually occur in an oligopolistic industry, where there is a small number of sellers and usually involve homogeneous products...
which supported rubber prices by regulating production (see OPEC
OPEC
OPEC is an intergovernmental organization of twelve developing countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. OPEC has maintained its headquarters in Vienna since 1965, and hosts regular meetings...
), but insufficient supply, especially due to wartime shortages, also led to a search for alternative forms of synthetic rubber.
By 1925 the price of natural rubber had increased to the point that many companies were exploring methods of producing synthetic rubber to compete with natural rubber. In the United States, the investigation focused on different materials than in Europe, building on the early laboratory work of Nieuwland
Julius Nieuwland
Reverend Julius Aloysius Nieuwland, CSC, Ph.D., was a Belgian-born Holy Cross priest and professor of chemistry and botany at the University of Notre Dame...
.
Studies published in 1930 written independently by Lebedev, the American Wallace Carothers
Wallace Carothers
Wallace Hume Carothers was an American chemist, inventor and the leader of organic chemistry at DuPont, credited with the invention of nylon....
and the German scientist Hermann Staudinger
Hermann Staudinger
- External links :* Staudinger's * Staudinger's Nobel Lecture *....
led in 1931 to one of the first successful synthetic rubbers, known as neoprene
Neoprene
Neoprene or polychloroprene is a family of synthetic rubbers that are produced by polymerization of chloroprene. Neoprene in general has good chemical stability, and maintains flexibility over a wide temperature range...
, which was developed at DuPont
DuPont
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...
under the direction of E.K. Bolton
Elmer Keiser Bolton
Elmer Keiser Bolton was an American chemist and research director for DuPont, notable for his role in developing neoprene and directing the research that led to the discovery of nylon.- Personal life :...
. Neoprene is highly resistant to heat and chemicals such as oil
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
and gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
, and is used in fuel hoses and as an insulating material in machinery.
The company Thiokol
Thiokol
Thiokol is a U.S. corporation concerned initially with rubber and related chemicals, and later with rocket and missile propulsion systems...
applied their name to a competing type of rubber based on ethylene dichloride
1,2-Dichloroethane
The chemical compound 1,2-dichloroethane, commonly known by its old name of ethylene dichloride , is a chlorinated hydrocarbon, mainly used to produce vinyl chloride monomer , the major precursor for PVC production. It is a colourless liquid with a chloroform-like odour...
which was commercially available in 1930.
The first rubber plant in Europe SK-1 (from Russian "Synthetic Kauchuk") was established (Russia) by Sergei Lebedev
Sergei Vasiljevich Lebedev
Sergei Vasiljevich Lebedev was a Russian/Soviet chemist and the inventor of the polybutadiene synthetic rubber, the first commercially viable and mass-produced type of synthetic rubber.- Biography :...
in Yaroslavl
Yaroslavl
Yaroslavl is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historical part of the city, a World Heritage Site, is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl Rivers. It is one of the Golden Ring cities, a group of historic cities...
under Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's First Five-Year Plan
First Five-Year Plan
The First Five-Year Plan, or 1st Five-Year Plan, of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a list of economic goals that was designed to strengthen the country's economy between 1928 and 1932, making the nation both militarily and industrially self-sufficient. "We are fifty or a hundred...
on July 7, 1932.
In 1935, German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
chemists synthesized the first of a series of synthetic rubbers known as Buna rubbers. These were copolymers, meaning the polymers were made up from two monomers in alternating sequence.
Other brands included Koroseal, which Waldo Semon
Waldo Semon
Waldo Lonsbury Semon was a renowned American inventor born in Demopolis, Alabama.Semon put his name into the history books for inventing vinyl, the world's second most used plastic. He found the formula for vinyl by mixing a few synthetic polymers, and the result was a substance that was elastic,...
developed in 1935, and Sovprene, which Russian researchers created in 1940.
World War II
B.F. Goodrich CompanyGoodrich Corporation
The Goodrich Corporation , formerly the B.F. Goodrich Company, is an American aerospace manufacturing company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded in Akron, Ohio in 1870 as Goodrich, Tew & Co. by Dr. Benjamin Franklin Goodrich. The company name was changed to the "B.F...
scientist Waldo Semon developed a new and cheaper version of synthetic rubber known as Ameripol in 1940. Ameripol made synthetic rubber production much more cost effective, helping to meet the country's needs during World War II.
The production of synthetic rubber in the United States expanded greatly during World War II, since the Axis powers
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
controlled nearly all the world's limited supplies of natural rubber by mid-1942 once Japan conquered Asia. Military trucks needed rubber for tire
Tire
A tire or tyre is a ring-shaped covering that fits around a wheel rim to protect it and enable better vehicle performance by providing a flexible cushion that absorbs shock while keeping the wheel in close contact with the ground...
s, and rubber was used in almost every other war machine. The U.S. government launched a major (and largely secret) effort to improve synthetic rubber production. A large team of chemists from many institutions were involved, including Calvin Souther Fuller
Calvin Souther Fuller
Calvin Souther Fuller was a physical chemist at AT&T Bell Laboratories where he worked for 37 years from 1930 to 1967. Fuller was part of a team in basic research that found answers to physical challenges...
of Bell Labs
Bell Labs
Bell Laboratories is the research and development subsidiary of the French-owned Alcatel-Lucent and previously of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company , half-owned through its Western Electric manufacturing subsidiary.Bell Laboratories operates its...
. The rubber designated GRS
Styrene-butadiene
Styrene-Butadiene or Styrene-Butadiene-Rubber is a synthetic rubber copolymer consisting of styrene and butadiene. It has good abrasion resistance and good aging stability when protected by additives, and is widely used in car tires, where it may be blended with natural rubber...
(Government Rubber Styrene), a copolymer of butadiene and styrene, was the basis for U.S. synthetic rubber production during World War II. By 1944, a total of 50 factories were manufacturing it, pouring out a volume of the material twice that of the world's natural rubber production before the beginning of the war. It still represents about half of total world production.
Operation Pointblank bombing targets of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
included the Schkopau
Schkopau
Schkopau is a municipality in the Saalekreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river Saale, approx. 4 km north of Merseburg, and 10 km south of Halle . During World War II, the Schkopau plant was the greatest producer of Axis synthetic rubber ....
(50K tons/yr) plant and the Hüls synthetic rubber plant near Recklinghausen
Recklinghausen
Recklinghausen is the northernmost city in the Ruhr-Area and the capital of the Recklinghausen district. It borders the rural Münsterland and is characterized by large fields and farms in the north and industry in the south...
(30K, 17%), the Kölnische Gummifäden Fabrik tire and tube plant at Deutz
Cologne-Deutz
Cologne-Deutz, often just Deutz, is an inner city part of Cologne, Germany and a formerly independent town.Lufthansa's headquarters are in Deutz.-History:...
on the east bank of the Rhine. The Ferrara
Ferrara
Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...
, Italy, synthetic rubber factory (near a river bridge) was bombed August 23, 1944.http://www.usaaf.net/chron/44/aug44.htm Three other synthetic rubber facilities were at Ludwigshafen/Oppau
Oppau
Oppau may refer to* Ludwigshafen-Oppau, a suburb of Ludwigshafen, Germany** the Oppau explosion which occurred there in 1921* until 1945, Opawa, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland...
(15K), Hanover/Limmer (reclamation, 20K), and Leverkusen
Leverkusen
Leverkusen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany on the eastern bank of the Rhine. To the South, Leverkusen borders the city of Cologne and to the North is the state capital Düsseldorf....
(5K). A synthetic rubber plant at Oświęcim
Oswiecim
Oświęcim is a town in the Lesser Poland province of southern Poland, situated west of Kraków, near the confluence of the rivers Vistula and Soła.- History :...
, Poland, was under construction on March 5, 1944.
Post-war
Solid-fuel rockets during World War II used nitrocelluloseNitrocellulose
Nitrocellulose is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through exposure to nitric acid or another powerful nitrating agent. When used as a propellant or low-order explosive, it is also known as guncotton...
explosives for propellants, but it was impractical and dangerous to make such rockets very large. During the war, California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
(Caltech) researchers came up with a new solid fuel based on asphalt
Asphalt
Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...
fuel mixed with an oxidizer
Oxidizing agent
An oxidizing agent can be defined as a substance that removes electrons from another reactant in a redox chemical reaction...
(such as potassium
Potassium
Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K and atomic number 19. Elemental potassium is a soft silvery-white alkali metal that oxidizes rapidly in air and is very reactive with water, generating sufficient heat to ignite the hydrogen emitted in the reaction.Potassium and sodium are...
or ammonium perchlorate
Ammonium perchlorate
Ammonium perchlorate is an inorganic compound with the formula NH4ClO4. It is the salt of perchloric acid and ammonia. It is a powerful oxidizer, which is why its main use is in solid propellants...
), and aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
powder. This new solid fuel burned more slowly and evenly than nitrocellulose explosives, and was much less dangerous to store and use, but it tended to flow slowly out of the rocket in storage and the rockets using it had to be stockpiled nose down.
After the war, Caltech researchers began to investigate the use of synthetic rubbers to replace asphalt in their solid fuel rocket motors. By the mid-1950s, large missiles were being built using solid fuels based on synthetic rubber, mixed with ammonium perchlorate and high proportions of aluminium powder. Such solid fuels could be cast into large, uniform blocks that had no cracks or other defects that would cause non-uniform burning. Ultimately, all large solid-fuel military rockets and missiles would use synthetic-rubber-based solid fuels, and they would also play a significant part in the civilian space effort.
Additional refinements to the process of creating synthetic rubber continued after the war. The chemical synthesis of isoprene accelerated the reduced need for natural rubber, and the peacetime quantity of synthetic rubber exceeded the production of natural rubber by the early 1960s.
Nowadays synthetic rubber is used a great deal in printing textile. In this case it is called rubber paste. In most cases titanium dioxide is used with copolymerization and volatile matter in producing such synthetic rubber for textile use. Moreover this kind of preparation can be considered to be the pigment preparation based on titanium dioxide.
In 2005, close to 21 million tons of rubber were produced of which around 58% was synthetic.
Table of common synthetic rubbers
| ISO 1629 ISO 1629 ISO 1629:1995 - Rubber Test StandardIt is an ISO standard. International Organization for Standardization, in short has created over 18000 International Standards on a wide range of subjects and approximately 1100 new ISO standards are developed and published each year.ISO 1629:1995 helps in... Code |
Technical Name | Common Names |
|---|---|---|
| ACM | Polyacrylate Rubber | |
| AEM | Ethylene-acrylate Rubber | |
| AU | Polyester Urethane | |
| BIIR | Bromo Isobutylene Isoprene | Bromobutyl |
| BR | Polybutadiene Polybutadiene Polybutadiene is a synthetic rubber that is a polymer formed from the polymerization process of the monomer 1,3-butadiene.It has a high resistance to wear and is used especially in the manufacture of tires, which consumes about 70% of the production... |
Buna CB |
| CIIR | Chloro Isobutylene Isoprene | Chlorobutyl, Butyl Butyl rubber Butyl rubber is a synthetic rubber, a copolymer of isobutylene with isoprene. The abbreviation IIR stands for Isobutylene Isoprene Rubber. Polyisobutylene, also known as "PIB" or polyisobutene, n, is the homopolymer of isobutylene, or 2-methyl-1-propene, on which butyl rubber is based... |
| CR | Polychloroprene Neoprene Neoprene or polychloroprene is a family of synthetic rubbers that are produced by polymerization of chloroprene. Neoprene in general has good chemical stability, and maintains flexibility over a wide temperature range... |
Chloroprene Chloroprene Chloroprene is the common name for the organic compound 2-chlorobuta-1,3-diene, which has the formula CH2=CCl-CH=CH2. This colorless liquid is the monomer for the production of the polymer polychloroprene, a type of synthetic rubber... , Neoprene |
| CSM | Chlorosulphonated Polyethylene | Hypalon Hypalon Hypalon is a trademark for chlorosulfonated polyethylene synthetic rubber noted for its resistance to chemicals, temperature extremes, and ultraviolet light. It was a product of DuPont Performance Elastomers, a subsidiary of DuPont.... |
| ECO | Epichlorohydrin Epichlorohydrin Epichlorohydrin is an organochlorine compound and an epoxide. This is a colorless liquid with a pungent, garlic-like odor, moderately soluble in water, but miscible with most polar organic solvents. Epichlorohydrin is a highly reactive compound and is used in the production of glycerol, plastics,... |
ECO, Epichlorohydrin, Epichlore, Epichloridrine, Herclor, Hydrin |
| EP | Ethylene Propylene | |
| EPDM | Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer | EPDM EPDM rubber EPDM rubber , a type of synthetic rubber, is an elastomer which is characterized by a wide range of applications. The E refers to ethylene, P to propylene, D to diene and M refers to its classification in ASTM standard D-1418. The M class includes rubbers having a saturated chain of the... , Nordel |
| EU | Polyether Urethane | |
| FFKM | Perfluorocarbon Rubber | |
| FKM FKM FKM is the designation for about 80% of fluoroelastomers as defined in ASTM D1418. Other fluorinated elastomers are perfluoro-elastomers and tetrafluoro ethylene/propylene rubbers . All FKMs contain vinylidene fluoride as a monomer... |
Fluoronated Hydrocarbon Fluoropolymer A fluoropolymer is a fluorocarbon based polymer with multiple strong carbon–fluorine bonds. It is characterized by a high resistance to solvents, acids, and bases.-History:Fluoropolymers were accidentally discovered in 1938 by Dr. Roy J... |
Viton Viton Viton is a brand of synthetic rubber and fluoropolymer elastomer commonly used in O-rings and other molded or extruded goods. The name is a registered trademark of DuPont Performance Elastomers L.L.C..... , Kalrez, Fluorel, Chemraz |
| FMQ | Fluoro Silicone | FMQ, Silicone Rubber Silicone rubber Silicone rubber is an elastomer composed of silicone—itself a polymer—containing silicon together with carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Silicone rubbers are widely used in industry, and there are multiple formulations... |
| FPM | Fluorocarbon Rubber | |
| HNBR | Hydrogenated Nitrile Butadiene | HNBR Nitrile rubber Nitrile rubber, also known as Buna-N, Perbunan, or NBR, is a synthetic rubber copolymer of acrylonitrile and butadiene. Trade names include Nipol, Krynac and Europrene.... |
| IR | Polyisoprene | (Synthetic) Natural Rubber |
| IIR | Isobutylene Isoprene Butyl | Butyl |
| NBR | Acrylonitrile Butadiene | NBR, Nitrile rubber Nitrile rubber Nitrile rubber, also known as Buna-N, Perbunan, or NBR, is a synthetic rubber copolymer of acrylonitrile and butadiene. Trade names include Nipol, Krynac and Europrene.... , Perbunan, Buna-N Nitrile rubber Nitrile rubber, also known as Buna-N, Perbunan, or NBR, is a synthetic rubber copolymer of acrylonitrile and butadiene. Trade names include Nipol, Krynac and Europrene.... |
| PU | Polyurethane Polyurethane A polyurethane is any polymer composed of a chain of organic units joined by carbamate links. Polyurethane polymers are formed through step-growth polymerization, by reacting a monomer with another monomer in the presence of a catalyst.Polyurethanes are... |
PU, Polyurethane |
| SBR | Styrene Butadiene Styrene-butadiene Styrene-Butadiene or Styrene-Butadiene-Rubber is a synthetic rubber copolymer consisting of styrene and butadiene. It has good abrasion resistance and good aging stability when protected by additives, and is widely used in car tires, where it may be blended with natural rubber... |
SBR, Buna-S, GRS, Buna VSL, Buna SE |
| SEBS | Styrene Ethylene Butylene Styrene Copolymer | SEBS Rubber |
| SI | Polysiloxane | Silicone Rubber Silicone Silicones are inert, synthetic compounds with a variety of forms and uses. Typically heat-resistant and rubber-like, they are used in sealants, adhesives, lubricants, medical applications , cookware, and insulation.... |
| VMQ | Vinyl Methyl Silicone | Silicone Rubber Silicone rubber Silicone rubber is an elastomer composed of silicone—itself a polymer—containing silicon together with carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Silicone rubbers are widely used in industry, and there are multiple formulations... |
| XNBR | Acrylonitrile Butadiene Carboxy Monomer | XNBR, Carboxylated Nitrile |
| XSBR | Styrene Butadiene Carboxy Monomer | |
| YBPO | Thermoplastic Polyether-ester | |
| YSBR | Styrene Butadiene Block Copolymer | |
| YXSBR | Styrene Butadiene Carboxy Block Copolymer |
In addition the term gum rubber is sometimes used to describe the tree-derived natural rubber (code NR), and to distinguish it from synthetic natural rubber (code IR).
Trade names
- Buna S
- HypalonHypalonHypalon is a trademark for chlorosulfonated polyethylene synthetic rubber noted for its resistance to chemicals, temperature extremes, and ultraviolet light. It was a product of DuPont Performance Elastomers, a subsidiary of DuPont....
- Kalrez
- Chemraz
- NeopreneNeopreneNeoprene or polychloroprene is a family of synthetic rubbers that are produced by polymerization of chloroprene. Neoprene in general has good chemical stability, and maintains flexibility over a wide temperature range...
- SilasticSilasticSilastic is a trademark registered in 1948 by Dow Corning Corporation for flexible, inert silicone elastomer...
- Tecnoflon
- VitonVitonViton is a brand of synthetic rubber and fluoropolymer elastomer commonly used in O-rings and other molded or extruded goods. The name is a registered trademark of DuPont Performance Elastomers L.L.C.....