Applications of Infrared Methods in the Structural Examination of Synthetic Rubber
Abstract Infrared absorption spectra have been long recognized as a convenient means for studying the structure of organic molecules. The interpretations of the spectra are based on the energy interactions of the molecule and the radiations which arise from the vibration of the constituent atoms and molecular rotations. For simple or highly symmetrical molecules, the determination of the normal modes of vibration and the calculation of the absorbing frequencies are relatively simple and straightforward. For more complicated organic molecules, this becomes increasingly difficult because with each additional atom, the number of degrees of freedom is increased by three and the determination of the normal modes of vibration becomes practically impossible. However, interpretations can be made to a useful extent through empirical comparisons with the absorption spectra of simpler known structures. The data that have been accumulated by investigators in this field have made it possible to assign rather definite absorption frequencies to some of the chemical linkages and functional groups. These correlations which have appeared in numerous places in the literature are partially reproduced in Table I. Organic compounds generally have strong absorption bands below 1300 cm−1, to which few definite assignments can be made with certainty because the vibrations of many of the atoms of the molecule may be involved rather than a specific part of it. It is clear that such empirical relationships must be relied upon in studying the structural variations of the long chain, complex molecules which occur in butadiene and isoprene polymers and copolymers and other synthetic rubbers. This procedure has been applied to determine the effects of oxidation and of variations in monomers and polymerizing conditions on the structure of synthetic rubber. It is practically certain that physical deficiencies of synthetic rubber are due principally to the structure of the long chain molecules rather than to the chemical nature of the monomers used.