This initial study suggests that the 1:1 wt%
mixture of natural rubber and chlorinated natural
rubber is not totally miscible when cast from xylene.
However, heating at 170 8C for 30 min resulted in a
dramatic change. The morphology of the film
appeared to be homogeneous, and there was
evidence for some type of accelerated chemical
oxidation, possibly in the isoprene units in the
natural rubber., It has been reported that epoxidized
natural rubber forms self-crosslinking blends with
chlorinated rubber [6] and polyvinylchloride [7]. The
implication of this work is that a solid state
oxidation reaction may occur at the natural rubber
=adhesive interface during rubber to metal
bonding using the Chemlock system. A more
detailed study of these observations and their
relevance to adhesion is currently in progress.