Comparison effects of lanthanum stearate and antioxidants in epoxidized natural rubber

This work studied possibilities of using lanthanum stearate(LaS t) as an antioxidant in epoxidized natural rubber containing 25 mol.% expoxidation(ENR25) compounds. For comparison purposes, two commercial antioxidant 4010 NA and MB were also used. The influence of LaS t, antioxidant 4010 NA and MB on cure characteristics, mechanical properties, crosslink density, hot air aging and thermo-oxidative degradation were studied. The results indicated that the incorporation of LaS t and antioxidants could accelerate the vulcanization of ENR. The ENR vulcanizates with antioxidant MB had better mechanical properties than 4010 NA and LaS t. Compared with antioxidant 4010 NA and MB, the ENR25 vulcanizates with the addition of LaS t exhibited the best hot air aging resistance and thermo-oxidative stability.