Thermal properties in cured natural rubber/styrene butadiene rubber blends

Blends of natural rubber (NR) and styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) were prepared with sulfur and n-t-butyl-2-benzothiazole sulfonamide (TBBS) as accelerator, varying the amount of each polymer in the blend. Samples were analysed by rheometer curing at 433 K until their maximum torque was reached. The miscibility among the constituent polymers of the cured compounds was studied in a broad range of temperatures by means of differential scanning calorimetry, analyzing the glass transition temperatures of the samples. The specific heat capacity of the compounds was also determined. Thermal diffusivity of the samples was measured in the temperature range from 130 to 400 K with a new device that performs measurements in vacuum. The thermal results are explained on the basis of the structure formed during the vulcanization of the samples considering the variation of the crosslink density of each phase. Finally, a serial thermal conduction model that takes into account the contribution of each phase to the thermal diffusivity was used to fit the experimental results.