Novel self-crosslinking film from hydrogenated carboxylated nitrile rubber latex

A new type of self-crosslinking latex film was prepared from hydrogenated carboxylated nitrile-butadiene rubber (HXNBR) latex by diimide reduction. The properties of the HXNBR rubber, including film surface morphology, physical properties, thermal stability and ageing properties, were investigated. FTIR spectroscopy was used to confirm the HXNBR structure, from which the degree of hydrogenation can be obtained. The morphology of the film surface was monitored by atomic force microscopy, which confirmed that HXNBR latex can form a continuous film with good cohesive properties from self-crosslinking latex particles. The self-crosslinking provided the latex film with excellent tensile strength. The thermal stability was improved after hydrogenation, as indicated by thermogravimetric methods. The activation energy for degradation was determined by Coats-Redfern plots. Hot air oven thermal ageing confirmed that the oxidation resistance increased as the degree of hydrogenation increased. All these results showed that HXNBR latex can form a self-crosslinking film with better mechanical properties, and heat and oxidation resistance than those of XNBR latex film in a wide range of film applications.