Vulcanization of Rubber using Glutaraldehyde

A novel and inexpensive method for vulcanizing natural rubber by using Glutaraldehyde was introduced. Crosslinking reaction was occurred only in the presence of ammonium hydroxide in natural rubber latex upon the addition of Glutaraldehyde. The multifunctional performance of Glutaraldehyde as a crosslinker for natural rubber and also the protein immobilization behavior make it an attractive choice towards engineering and bio-medical applications. Compared to sulfur and peroxide vulcanization, crosslinking by glutaraldehyde is a simple and inexpensive method. A Fully interpenetrating polymer network based on natural rubber and poly (vinyl alcohol) was also prepared by using glutaraldehyde as the common crosslinking agent. A remarkable improvement was observed in the physical properties of the blend by the formation of IPN. Formation of interlocked molecular chain structure diminishes the area at the interfaces and consequently it reduces the interfacial polarization and hence the dielectric constant values are low.