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Development of natural rubber with enhanced oxidative degradability

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Abstract

A persistent increase in the amount of rubber waste in the environment could herald the next environmental crisis. Elastomeric properties of natural rubber are relevant and essential for a wide range of applications, and because of the heavy utilization, there is a huge amount of rubber waste produced. Rubber waste, like most hydrocarbon polymers, does not readily degrade when discarded in the environment, resulting in excessive accumulation over time. Hence, novel or innovative approaches to improving natural rubber degradability are required for better waste management. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the effectiveness of metal stearates in enhancing the thermal oxidative degradability of natural rubber. Natural rubbers were blended individually with cobalt (II) stearate and iron (III) stearate, and the compounded rubbers were subsequently thermally treated in an oxidative environment at 65 °C for up to 8 weeks. Throughout the degradation period, the rubber films were characterized by FTIR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, water contact angle, molecular weight analysis, and thermogravimetric analysis. Rubber films compounded with metal stearates experienced 1200% increase in carbonyl content, significant increase in hydrophilicity, and reduction in molecular weight by greater than 80%. These changes are highly desirable in the context of oxo-biodegradable materials because they could facilitate the subsequent biotic degradation process. The findings in this study indicate that metal stearates are efficient in enhancing the rubber’s oxidative degradability. The technology may be adopted to innovate oxo-biodegradable rubbers for a more sustainable rubber consumption.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

This project is funded by University of Malaya Faculty Research Grant GPF085-2020.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Natasya Nabilla Hairon Azhar, Nor Mas Mira Rahman & Desmond Teck-Chye Ang

  2. Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Acga Cheng

  3. Technology and Engineering Division, RRIM Sungai Buloh Research Station, Malaysian Rubber Board, 47000, Sungai Buloh, Selangor, Malaysia

    Siang Yin Lee

Authors
  1. Natasya Nabilla Hairon Azhar
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  2. Acga Cheng
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  3. Siang Yin Lee
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Natasya Nabilla Hairon Azhar. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Natasya Nabilla Hairon Azhar and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Desmond Teck-Chye Ang and Acga Cheng contributed to supervision.

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Correspondence to Desmond Teck-Chye Ang.

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Azhar, N.N.H., Cheng, A., Lee, S.Y. et al. Development of natural rubber with enhanced oxidative degradability. Polym. Bull. 80, 3927–3948 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-022-04240-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-022-04240-z

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