Lifetime Prediction of Rubber Using the Chemiluminescence Approach and Isoconversional Kinetics

A common scepticism towards the application of many materials in art or in conservation-restoration results from the fact that their long-term stability is unknown and difficult to predict. In the present study we report on a new approach of kinetic analysis of the oxidation reactions of natural rubbers with and without stabiliser in an oxygen atmosphere at moderate temperatures using chemiluminescence measurements carried out on newly developed instrumentation. The kinetic parameters of the oxidation process, calculated from the chemiluminescence signals by means of the differential isoconversional method of Friedman, were subsequently applied to the simulation of the rubber aging using different temperature profiles. The results are a first step towards the use of chemiluminescence to characterise the oxidative aging of rubber and predicting the lifetime of rubber items.