The Effects of Trans- Polyoctylene Rubber (TOR) as a Compatibilizer on The Properties of Epoxidized Natural Rubber/Recycled Silicone Catheter (ENR-25/rSC) Vulcanizate

In this study, the influence of Trans- Polyoctylene Rubber (TOR) as a compatibilizer on the cure characteristics, tensile and physical properties of ENR-25/rSC vulcanizate were determined. Five different loading of TOR (2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 phr) were prepared and added into the vulcanizate. Results indicated that the scorch time (t 2 ) and cure time (t 90 ) bacame shorter as TOR increased, while minimum torque (M L ) and maximum torque (M H ) increased. The incorporation of TOR with the vulcanizates enhanced the tensile strength (T s ), modulus (M100) crosslinking density and hardness values. However, the elongation at break percentage of compatibilized vulcanizates became lower than uncompatibilized vulcanizates.