Abstract
In a previous paper by the present author, a general method for determining the distribution of the nonrubber substances between the rubber-and-water phases in latex was described and results were given of its application to the study of the distribution of nitrogen and materials extractable with acetone. It was shown that the nitrogen associated with the rubber phase is of two different types, a small amount (about 0.02 per cent) being independent of particle size and consequently distributed throughout the mass of the rubber, whereas the remainder is a function of particle size, replaceable by surface-active materials, such as soaps, and is, consequently, situated at the surface of the particles. The surface nitrogen in ammoniated latex was variable, decreased with age of latex, could be partially desorbed at an alkaline pH by washing the latex, for instance, by dilution or repeated creaming, and is considered to represent the protective protein covering of the latex globules. The total variation experienced in unconcentrated ammoniated latices of varying ages was from 0.11 to 0.18 per cent, but in latex of good quality about six months old, surface nitrogen was 0.15 per cent, corresponding to about 1 per cent protein. Distribution experiments on the acetone extract showed that there is from 2 to 3 per cent of acetone-soluble substances associated with the rubber, of which less than one-half represents ammonium soaps at the surface of the particles. The surface of the rubber particles is, therefore, composed largely of protein and fat acids, and it was thought probable that the ratio between them might change, both during the life of a single latex and from one latex to another.