APPLICATIONS OF CHEMILUMINESCENCE IN RUBBER RESEARCH

The oxidation of most organic materials is accompanied by the emission of weak light, so called chemiluminescence (CL). This emission has previously often been designated oxyluminescence. CL has been known for several years, but it is not until recently that the development of photon counting equipment has allowed detection of levels down to a few photons per second. This development makes CL a promising nondestructive and extremely sensitive technique to provide data which may be useful to estimate the service life of polymeric materials. Various applications of the CL-method for the detection of oxidation of elastomers are reported: such as, stabilization of hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene; degradation of latex coating of paper; long-term thermo-oxidation of natural rubber; indication of ultrathin coating of cellulose fiber with polybutadiene.