Analytical technology is one of the fundamental technologies required for understanding and developing rubber products. It is very important to adopt the appropriate methods focusing on the purpose of analysis. Though there are various techniques ranging from basic to state-of-the-arts analysis, this article reviews the general procedure and methods including JIS (Japanese Industrial Standards) test methods for analysis of vulcanized rubbers.

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Analysis of silane coupling agents in tires is important for the evaluation or improvement in developing of tires. Here, we present an example demonstrating the profiling analysis of four same structured polysulfide silane coupling agents produced by different manufacturers using high mass accuracy MSⁿ and multivariate statistical technique.

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Structural analysis of rubber molecules by solid-state NMR is reviewed. Especially, cross-linking structure and rubber/silica surface analysis are the focus of this article. Not only reviews of past research but also latest solid-state NMR techniques such as ³³S NMR spectrum of vulcanized rubber and ²⁹Si Multi-CP spectrum of silica are shown.

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Adhesion and deterioration mechanisms between brass coated steel cords and rubber for tires have been studied by various analytical methods. Previously, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and so on were used by early researchers. Recently, time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) is employed for analysis. And cross-sectional observations of adhesion interfaces for sliced specimen by focused ion beam system (FIB) are carried out with (scanning) transmission electron microscope ((S)TEM). Element analyses were also performed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) simultaneously. In this report, results of analyses obtained by various methods for the adhesion interfaces were reviewed in focusing on data analyses. Planar specimens were prepared by brass coating on flat silicon and iron plates for making it possible to apply various analysis methods. While it was difficult to apply glow discharge optical emission spectrometry (GD-OES) and matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS) for uneven real steel cord, preferable results were obtained by using the present flat specimens.

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The concentration of stearic acid in vulcanized rubbers affects the physical properties of the rubber. Properties such as hardness, tensile strength, and compression set are directly related to the stearic acid content. There exists a need for a quantitative analytical method for the determination of stearic acid in rubber. This report illustrates two methods which can be used for the measurement of stearic acid in styrene butadiene rubber (SBR): thermal desorption (TD)-GC/MS and reactive thermal desorption (or thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation (THM))-GC/MS. TD-GC/MS analysis is a simple procedure for the determination of the fatty acids in SBR but the quantitative results are not necessarily satisfactory, as measured by relative standard deviation (RSD) for the determined values. This is attributed to the carboxylic acid group which may interact with the stationary phase coated on the separation column. This assumption is rationalized by the appearance of the asymmetric peak of the free fatty acid. On the other hand,THM-GC/MS analysis is a simple analytical method and the experimentally obtained concentration of the methyl ester agrees well with the known concentration. Precision is less than 3.2 % in RSD.

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The greatest weakness of polymeric materials such as rubber and plastic is to be easy to deteriorate than inorganic or metal materials. Therefore, degradation troubles and lifetime of rubber and plastic products are strongly dependent on their degradation. In order to develop more reliable products, it is necessary to elucidate degradation phenomenon found in the market products. The qualitative analytical method for identification of degradation factor and quantitative analytical methods for the degree of degradation for the cross-linked rubber are introduced.

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This article reviews the manufacturing method, producers, grades, properties and kinds of IR (isoprene rubber) in industrial viewpoints. IR is most similar to NR in synthetic rubber, and the production capacity of IR is approximately 7% of NR. IR is most often used for tires, and the usage is similar to NR, too. However, the good processability, high quality and high uniformity of IR, which NR does not have, are useful for niche application.

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