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ABSTRACT
The use of depolymerized natural rubber (DNR) and phenolic resins modifiers in the production of adhesive used majorly in the footwear industries has been growing rapidly in the last decades as a result of poor bond strength usually experienced from adhesives made with the ordinary natural rubber (NR) and other polymers with weak bond strength. However, this study was conducted to investigate some properties of depolymerized natural rubber adhesive (DNR) and phenolics resin (PF) added to depolymerized natural rubber as well as the properties of equimolar mixture of DNR /PF. Depolymerized natural rubber was synthesize by dissolving natural rubber graded NSR 10 (gotten from N.ODia rubber processing company) in toluene and reacting it with nitrobenzene. It was blended with novolac which is a type of phenolic resin. This study involves investigation on the properties of different adhesives made from depolymerized natural rubber, Phenolic resin and blend of the depolymerized natural rubber and Phenolic resin (1:1). All samples were subjected to T peel testing in order to determine the bond strength of the adhesive using the ASTM D1876 machine. The result from the test shows that bond/peel strength was higher for NR/PF adhesive which was in the ratio 1:1. The improvement of mechanical properties of the different adhesives were found to follow this other; NR/PF > PF > NR. The obtained adhesives can be used in many industrial applications such as in wood work application and footwear applications; the phenolformaldhyde resin component adds the toughness while the natural rubber provides superior resilience and energy return when used in footwear.
