Optimizing vulcanized natural rubber: the role of phenolic natural antioxidants and ionizing radiation

Abstract Phenolic antioxidants (PhA), a novel antioxidant for natural rubber (NR), were used in the current study. As anti-aging agents, different concentrations of gallic acid (G) or tannic acid (T) were added to NR/PhA composites to increase their heat resistance. The NR/PhA composites’ mechanical, Physico-chemical, and DSC characteristics were evaluated, as well as their thermo-oxidative aging evaluations. This led to a significant improvement in the mechanical properties of the NR/PhA composites, making them superior to the NR/Antage (as a traditional antioxidant) composites. Additionally, the addition of phenolic antioxidants raised the crosslinking density of the NR composites, which significantly impacted the mechanical characteristics. According to the findings, phenolic antioxidants enhanced the NR/silica composites’ resistance to solvent extraction and thermo-oxidative aging, much like Antage. Upon ionizing irradiation, the mechanical characteristics of the vulcanized composites rise with increasing absorbed dose at 10 kGy and then decrease at 30 kGy.