Blends with known contents of natural rubber (NR) and butadiene-styrene copolymer (SBR) were prepared at CTA and IFOCA laboratories as sample references for producing an analytical curve to determine the contents of NR and SBR via pyrolysis/FT-IR analysis. Thermogravimetry was used to quantify the real content of NR and SBR in the blends through the ratio between the intensity of the peaks in the derivative curve (DTG). The FT-IR analytical bands chosen at MIR region were 885 cm-1 (A1) for NR and 699 cm-1 (A2) for SBR. Values of relative absorbance (A1/A2) versus the NR/SBR contents data obtained from DTG analysis were used to construct an analytical curve with a good linear correlation (R=0.998) which allows one to determine contents of NR and SBR in blends of similar composition.
Natural rubber (NR); butadiene-styrene copolymer (SBR); blends; FT-IR; thermogravimetry
