3.1.2. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA)
Thermogravimetric analysis measures the amount and rate (velocity) of change in the mass of a sample as a function of temperature or time in a controlled atmosphere. The measurement is used primarily to determine the thermal and oxidative stabilities of materials as well as their compositional properties. The thermal decomposition behaviour and derivative weight thermograms of NR/R-EPDM blends vulcanised using various accelerators are shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, respectively. The decomposition temperature at various weight loss, stages and char residue are also summarised in Table 4 and Table 5. Two regions of the blends degradation were subsequently observed. Here, the initial minor weight loss at around 180–200 °C was owed to the presence of volatile matter such as stearic acid and absorbed water at around 300 °C [20]. The first step in the degradation of the blends started at about 330 °C and was completed at around 450 °C. The second stage of degradation occurred in the region of 450–520 °C. The former stage of the decomposition was due to the degradation of natural rubber (polyisoprene) segments that corresponded to major peaks observed off the DTG curve (Fig. 5). The degradation of the natural rubber segment is sensitive to the presence of the oxidised structure as well as the depletion of sulphidic crosslink in natural rubber. The later degradation that can be seen from the DTG curve’s small peak area was attributed to the scission of cross-linked R-EPDM and conjugated polyene left after the first stage of degradation [21