Natural Rubber (NR) is widely used in applications where electric insulation is required. In power systems utilities, NR is used mainly to manufacture live line security equipments - rubber insulating gloves, sleeves, matting and electric isolation tools. This work is part of a research about the electric and mechanicals properties of NR. Results from thermally stimulated current - TSC spectroscopy, an important characterization method of charge storage in NR, and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis - DMTA are presented. Two compositions of NR have been studied, one contain sulfur as vulcanization (cure) agent, and the other with dicumile peroxide. The redirection of electric dipoles detected by TSC for new and aging natural rubber samples, of the two formulations are related to movements of segments, side groups, and parts of terminations of chains, detected by DMTA. Furthermore, the degradation of natural rubber samples proved to be divided into two stages: firstly, the cross-linking reaction is predominant and in the second, the predominant chain scission and oxidation reaction of endings, branches and scission points.
TSC; natural rubber; DMTA
