chemical compound
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- natural and synthetic rubber - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
Also known as: caoutchouc
Written by
Alan N. Gent
Fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Article History
- Key People:
- Giovanni Battista Pirelli
- Tan Cheng Lock
- Paul W. Litchfield
- Henry Nicholas Ridley
- Carl Dietrich Harries
- Related Topics:
- polyisoprene
- mastication
- tapping
- synthetic rubber
- natural rubber
See all related content
rubber, elastic substance obtained from the exudations of certain tropical plants (natural rubber) or derived from petroleum and natural gas (synthetic rubber). Because of its elasticity, resilience, and toughness, rubber is the basic constituent of the tires used in automotive vehicles, aircraft, and bicycles. More than half of all rubber produced goes into automobile tires; the rest goes into mechanical parts such as mountings, gaskets, belts, and hoses, as well as consumer products such as shoes, clothing, furniture, and toys.
The main chemical constituents of rubber are elastomers, or “elastic polymers,” large chainlike molecules that can be stretched to great lengths and yet recover their original shape. The first common elastomer was polyisoprene, from which natural rubber is made. Formed in a living organism, natural rubber consists of solids suspended in a milky fluid, called latex, that circulates in the inner portions of the bark of many tropical and subtropical trees and shrubs, but predominantly Hevea brasiliensis, a tall softwood tree originating in Brazil. Natural rubber was first scientifically described by Charles-Marie de La Condamine and François Fresneau of France following an expedition to South America in 1735. The English chemist Joseph Priestley gave it the name rubber in 1770 when he found it could be used to rub out pencil marks. Its major commercial success came only after the vulcanization process was invented by Charles Goodyear in 1839.
Natural rubber continues to hold an important place in the market today; its resistance to heat buildup makes it valuable for tires used on racing cars, trucks, buses, and airplanes. Nevertheless, it constitutes less than half of the rubber produced commercially; the rest is rubber produced synthetically by means of chemical processes that were partly known in the 19th century but were not applied commercially until the second half of the 20th century, after World War II. Among the most important synthetic rubbers are butadiene rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, neoprene, the polysulfide rubbers (thiokols), butyl rubber, and the silicones. Synthetic rubbers, like natural rubbers, can be toughened by vulcanization and improved and modified for special purposes by reinforcement with other materials.
Essential properties of the polymers used to produce the principal commercial rubbers are listed in the table.
| polymer type | glass transition temperature (°C) | melting temperature (°C) | heat resistance* | oil resistance* | flex resistance* | typical products and applications |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *E = excellent, G = good, F = fair, P = poor. | ||||||
| polyisoprene (natural rubber, isoprene rubber) | −70 | 25 | P | P | E | tires, springs, shoes, adhesives |
| styrene-butadiene copolymer (styrene-butadiene rubber) | −60 | P | P | G | tire treads, adhesives, belts | |
| polybutadiene (butadiene rubber) | −100 | 5 | P | P | F | tire treads, shoes, conveyor belts |
| acrylonitrile-butadiene copolymer (nitrile rubber) | −50 to −25 | G | G | F | fuel hoses gaskets, rollers | |
| isobutylene-isoprene copolymer (butyl rubber) | −70 | −5 | F | P | F | tire liners, window strips |
| ethylene-propylene monomer (EPM), ethylene-propylene-diene monomer (EPDM) | −55 | F | P | F | flexible seals, electrical insulation | |
| polychloroprene (neoprene) | −50 | 25 | G | G | G | hoses, belts, springs, gaskets |
| polysulfide (Thiokol) | −50 | F | E | F | seals, gaskets, rocket propellants | |
| polydimethyl siloxane (silicone) | −125 | −50 | G | F | F | seals, gaskets, surgical implants |
| fluoroelastomer | −10 | E | E | F | O-rings, seals, gaskets | |
| polyacrylate elastomer | −15 to −40 | G | G | F | hoses, belts, seals, coated fabrics | |
| polyethylene (chlorinated, chlorosulfonated) | −70 | G | G | F | O-rings, seals, gaskets | |
| styrene-isoprene-styrene (SIS), styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) block copolymer | −60 | P | P | F | automotive parts, shoes, adhesives | |
| EPDM-polypropylene blend | −50 | F | P | F | shoes, flexible covers | |
Natural rubber production
The rubber tree
Commercially, natural rubber is obtained almost exclusively from Hevea brasiliensis, a tree indigenous to South America, where it grows wild to a height of 34 metres (120 feet). Cultivated in plantations, however, the tree grows only to about 24 metres (80 feet) because carbon, necessary for growth, is also an essential constituent of rubber. Since only atmospheric carbon dioxide can supply carbon to the plant, the element has to be rationed between the two needs when the tree is in active production. Also, with foliage limited to the top of the tree (to facilitate tapping), the intake of carbon dioxide is less than in a wild tree. Other trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants produce rubber, but, because none of them compares for efficiency with Hevea brasiliensis, industry botanists have concentrated their efforts exclusively on this species.
Britannica QuizBuilding Blocks of Everyday ObjectsIn the cultivation of Hevea, the natural contours of the land are followed, and the trees are protected from wind. Cover crops planted adjacent to the rubber trees hold rainwater on sloping ground and help to fertilize the soil by fixing atmospheric nitrogen. Standard horticultural techniques, such as nursery growing of hardy rootstocks and grafting on top of them, hand pollination, and vegetative propagation (cloning) to produce a genetically uniform product, are also employed.
Hevea grows only within a well-defined area of the tropics and subtropics where frost is never encountered. Heavy annual rainfall of about 2,500 mm (100 inches) is essential, with emphasis on a wet spring. As a consequence of these requirements, growing areas are limited. Southeast Asia is particularly well situated for rubber culture; so too are parts of South Asia and West Africa. Cultivation of Hevea in Brazil, its native habitat, was virtually destroyed by blight early in the 20th century.
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