DSC Analysis of the Induction Period in the Vulcanisation of Rubber Compounds

Vulcanisation of rubber compounds was studied by DSC under isothermal and non-isothermal conditions. The parameters of an Arrhenius-like equation describing the temperature dependence of induction period have been obtained both from isothermal and non-isothermal measurements. A new method for obtaining the kinetic parameters from non-isothermal measurements, based on the dependence of onset temperature of vulcanisation peak on heating rate, is presented. Also, a procedure for the evaluation of temperature difference between the furnace and sample is proposed. It has been shown that the treatment of non-isothermal DSC measurements gives the kinetic parameters free of systematic errors. The new method can also be used for studying other reactions exhibiting the induction period. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.