Development of a novel elastomer with unique properties as fire and radiation resistance

This study aims to create a novel, distinct form of elastomer with superior ability to resist fire, high resistance to radiation, and resistance to environmental conditions such as temperature and solvents. This type of natural-based elastomer was prepared using carboxymethyl cellulose CMC, polyacrylic acid PAA, crosslinked with tannic acid TA. Most techniques in elastomer manufacture technologies are unfriendly and participate in increasing carbon emissions. Gamma radiation was used as a clean tool for copolymerization and crosslinking the elastomer. The irradiation dose of 5 kGy with a rate of 3.32 kGy/h was enough to produce CMC/PAA/TA elastomer. The properties of the produced elastomer were investigated by Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), and limiting oxygen index (LOI). CMC/PAA/TA has high resistance to solvents such as acetone, benzene, HCl, and HNO₃. The tensile strength is 3.376 MPa, the elongation percent is 501.689%, and the LOI value is 30%. The produced elastomer possessed excellent gamma radiation resistance. The elastomer was exposed later to 1864 kGy of gamma radiation without showing degradation and retained its properties, as confirmed by FTIR, TGA, and mechanical properties. After investigation, it can be inferred that the produced CMC/PAA/TA elastomer exhibited outstanding properties.