This book discusses a wide range of spectroscopic techniques used to characterize chemical and physical structures in viscoelastic materials such as unvulcanized elastomers and their vulcanisates, various rubbery materials, and some plastics which, when blended with particular additives, behave like rubbers. Analysis of rubbery materials is complicated by the fact that they contain significant amounts of fillers, vulcanizing agents, antioxidants, plasticizers, and the like. Due to the complex composition, no single technique can provide a full understanding of the effect of chemical and physical structure on the functional properties of rubbery materials. Thus, spectroscopy has become a powerful analytical tool.

With in-depth coverage of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and optical spectroscopy, Spectroscopy of Rubber and Rubbery Materials brings together the various spectroscopic techniques for obtaining the following information: chemical structure of rubbery materials, network structure analysis, heterogeneity of rubbery materials, physical properties of rubbery materials, functional properties and stability of rubbery materials, processing of rubbery materials, and quality control.

From the Preface: “...The common feature of all [rubbers and rubbery] materials is a low glass transition temperature and a molecular network which is formed due to chemical and/or physical junctions between long chain molecules. Depending on the applied force this network, neither liquid nor solid, reveals both solid-like and liquid-like properties. This dual behavior determines the application areas of these materials...”

Target Audience: Chemists, physicists, material scientists and technologists who seek a better understanding of rubbery materials.

Table of Contents:

Characterisation of Elastomers Using (Multi) Hyphenated Thermogravimetric Analysis Techniques

Photoacoustic Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy of Rubbers and Related Materials

Infrared Spectroscopy of Rubbers

Application of Infrared Spectroscopy to Characterise Chemically Modified Rubbers and Rubbery Materials

Infrared Spectroscopy of Rubbery Materials

Crosslinking of EPDM and Polydiene Rubbers Studied by Optical Spectroscopy

NMR Imaging of Elastomers

NMR in Soft Polymeric Matter: Nanometer Scale Probe

Chemical Characterisation of Vulcanisates by High-Resolution Solid State NMR

Characterisation of Chemical and Physical Networks in Rubbery Materials Using Proton NMR Magnetisation Relaxation

High Resolution NMR of Elastomers

¹²⁹ Xe NMR of Elastomers in Blends and Composites

Swollen Rubbery Materials: Chemistry and Physical Properties Studied by NMR Techniques

Multidimensional NMR Techniques for the Characterisation of Viscoelastic Materials

Deuterium NMR in Rubbery Materials

Index