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Hydrogenation of natural rubber using nickel 2‐ethylhexanoate catalyst in combination with triisobutylaluminum
Author(s) -
Gan Seng Neon,
Subramaniam Nadaraja,
Yahya Rosiyah
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-4628(19960103)59:1<63::aid-app10>3.0.co;2-9
Subject(s) - catalysis , natural rubber , nickel , chemistry , hydrogen , activation energy , polymer chemistry , kinetic energy , materials science , organic chemistry , chemical engineering , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering
Kinetic studies for the homogeneous hydrogenation of natural rubber, in the presence of nickel 2‐ethylhexanoate and triisobutylaluminum, have been carried out by monitoring the change in hydrogen pressure in a Parr reactor of fixed volume. 1 H‐NMR spectroscopy provides the measurements of the extent of hydrogenation. The reaction kinetics, in the presence of a fixed amount of catalyst, showed an overall second‐order kinetic with respect to [H 2 ] and [CC]. The reaction has a relatively low apparent activation energy of 26.0 kJ mol ‐1 and is therefore suitable for the hydrogenation of natural rubber at ambient conditions to minimize side reactions. The impurities in commercial rubbers have a slight effect on the catalyst activity. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.