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Correlating Additives to Deterioration in Historical Rubber Objects

Correlating Additives to Deterioration in Historical Rubber Objects. Jessica Lafrance. What is Rubber?. Havea Brasiliensis tree cis-1, 4 polyisoprene A dispersion of rubber particles in water

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Correlating Additives to Deterioration in Historical Rubber Objects

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  1. Correlating Additives to Deterioration in Historical Rubber Objects Jessica Lafrance

  2. What is Rubber? • HaveaBrasiliensis tree • cis-1, 4 polyisoprene • A dispersion of rubber particles in water • 60% water, 36% solid components, 1-1.5% protinacious substances, 1-2.5% resinous substances, 1% sugar, less than 1% ash (Waentig 2008) • Must be ‘cured’ after harvesting • After curing it is light in colour, soft, tacky,little mechanical strength • Limited number of crosslinks between polymer chains

  3. The Purpose of Additives • Mesoamericans coated rubber with earth to reduce the tack • Rubber pioneers tested numerous additives to change the properties, most common additives are those related to vulcanisation, others include: • Fillers • Accelerators • Stabilizers • Special ingredients • Additives were also added for for economic reasons

  4. Deterioration of Rubber • Oxidation, reactions with sulfur compounds, ozone • Accelerated by heat and light • Oxidation: new cross links form - rubber hardens, old cross links break – softening, polymer chain breaks – flaking and crumbling • Sulfur: creation of hydrogen sulfide, ketones, aldehydes and acids • Ozone: addition of double bonds at the surface to form brittle ozonides • Additives have an effect on these processes • Example: Blooms of waxes or oils on the surface, the absorption of antioxidants by other additives reducing their effectiveness, accelerated deterioration due to minerals

  5. This Research • Is there a relationship between specific additives and deterioration? • Can this be seen through changes in manufacture over time? • Is the relationship between the amount of additives present and the level of deterioration linear? • Does the inclusion of carbon black have as a great of a protective effect in the presence of other additives prone to UV degradation? • Do the additives have a strong effect on the formation of protective surface on rubber?

  6. Experimental • WORK IN PROGRESS • The sample material must meet the following criteria: a) one sample type must include carbon black as an additive, the other sample type must not; b) the type of object must span a wide timeline of production to allow for samples to be taken from objects at intervals in production history (for example, one object from every decade of production); c) the object must have been employed during it’s working life and exposed to the stresses of use. • FTIR-ATR, P-GC, SEM • Determination of current level of deterioration and physical properties • Correlations will be made between the data and ‘mapped’

  7. References Allington, Caroline. "The Treatment of Social History Objects Made of Natural Rubber." Preprints of Contributions to the Modern Organic Materials Meeting Held at the Univeristy of Edinburgh, 14 & 15 April 1988. Edinburgh: The Scottish Society for Conservation & Restoration, 1988. 123-132. Baker, Mary T. "Ancient Mexican Rubber Artifacts and Modern American Spacesuits: Studies in Crystallization and Oxidation." Edited by Pamela B. Vandiver, James R. Druzik, Jose Luis Galvan Madrid, Ian C. Freeston and George Segan Wheeler. Materials Issues in Art and Archaeology IV. Pittsburgh: Materials Research Society, 1995. 223-231. Coran, Aubert Y. "Vulcanisation." In The Science and Technology of Rubber, edited by James E. Mark, BurakErman and Frederick R. Eirich, 321-366. Oxford: Elsevier, 2005. Forrest, M.J. "Chemical analysis of rubber samples that had been naturally aged for 40 years." Polymer Testing, 2000: 151 – 158. Gratta[n, David. "Personal communication." October 10, 2012. "Chapter 3: Elastomeric Materials and Processes." In Handbook of plastics, elastomers, and composites, by Charles A. Harper. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002. Kaminitz, Marian. "Amazonian Ethnographic Rubber Artifacts." Preprints of Contributions to the Modern Organic Materials Meeting Held at the University of Edinburgh, 14 & 15 April 1988. Edinburgh: The Scottish Society for Conservation and Restoration, 1988. 143 - 150. Loadman, John. "Rubber: Its History, Composition and Prospects for Conservation." Saving the Twentieth Century: The Conservation of Modern Materials. Ottawa: Communications Canada, Canadian Conservation Institute, 1993. 59 - 80. —. Tears of the Tree. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. Nuttgens, Flora, and Zenzie Tinker. "The Conservation of Rubberised Textiles: Two Case Studies." The Conservator, no. 24 (2000): 24-38. Scheirs, John. Compositional and Failure Analysis of Polymers: A Practical Approach.Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, 2000. Waentig, Friederike. Plastics in Art: A study from the conservation point of view.Petersberg: Michael ImhofVerlag, 2008.

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