Nowadays, with the deepening of people's understanding of rubber, rubber technology is also improving day by day. Whether it is natural rubber or synthetic rubber, it has become a necessity in our lives. Rubber has changed our lives and the world. However, society's demand for the quality and performance of rubber products is increasing, and the testing needs of the rubber industry are also continuously increasing.

Rubber is a highly elastic polymer with a chain like molecular structure that has high flexibility. And it has good physical and mechanical properties as well as chemical stability. Rubber is the fundamental raw material of the rubber industry, widely used in the manufacturing of tires, hoses, tapes, cables, and other various rubber products. It is equivalent to metals, chemical fibers, and plastics as important materials.

Do you know where rubber comes from? What is its specific purpose? Today, the Central South Rubber editor has compiled information about rubber. Let's take a look!

Firstly, let's understand where the magical rubber comes from?

Rubber is divided into two types: natural rubber and synthetic rubber. Natural rubber is extracted from plants such as rubber trees and rubber grass and processed into gum; Synthetic rubber is obtained through polymerization reactions of various monomers. Rubber products are widely used in various aspects of industry or daily life.

Rubber is divided into block rubber, latex, liquid rubber, and powder rubber according to their form. Latex is a colloidal water dispersion of rubber; Liquid rubber is an oligomer of rubber, usually a viscous liquid before vulcanization; Powder rubber is the process of processing latex into powder form for the purpose of ingredient preparation and processing.

Secondly, let's understand the uses of rubber.

According to the properties and uses of rubber, synthetic rubber can be divided into general synthetic rubber, semi general synthetic rubber, specialized synthetic rubber, and special synthetic rubber, in addition to natural rubber.

So let's take a look at the main types, advantages, disadvantages, and characteristics of these rubbers.

1. Natural rubber (NR)

The comprehensive performance is relatively comprehensive, and the processing technology is simple. The disadvantage is that the performance of oil resistance, heat resistance, cold resistance, chemical resistance, aging resistance, etc. is too poor, far inferior to other synthetic rubbers. Mainly used for tires, hoses, tape, medical supplies, sports equipment, and some other industrial products.

2. Styrene butadiene rubber (SBR)

The comprehensive performance is comparable to natural rubber, while the wear and thermal aging performance is better than natural rubber. When used in combination with natural rubber and various synthetic rubbers, it has good processing performance and is a universal rubber. Mainly used for rubber hoses, tires, and tape. Rubber shoes, as well as various industrial rubber products.

3. Butadiene rubber (BR)

Good processing performance, excellent wear resistance and elasticity, low heat generation, and good low-temperature resistance. It has good resistance to bending, but the disadvantage is poor tear strength and skid resistance. Widely used in tires, hoses, tape, rubber shoes, and other rubber products.

4. Neoprene rubber (CR)

Good performance in terms of ozone resistance, weather aging resistance, oil resistance, solvent resistance, flame retardancy, insulation, water resistance, airtightness, tensile strength, etc. The disadvantage is poor cold resistance and high density. Suitable for rubber hoses, tapes, conveyor belts, wires and cables, air conditioning rubber products, as well as buildings, ships