There are many different kinds of rubber, but they all fall into two broad types: natural rubber (latex—grown from plants) and synthetic rubber (made artificially in a chemical plant or laboratory).

Besides, Which type of rubber is best?

EPDM Rubber

It is the ideal choice for any product that requires general ozone, chemical and weather resistance. EPDM has good resistance to alcohols, greases, detergents, ketones, silicone oils, and mild acids. It’s also a fairly cost effective material.

Keeping this in mind, Are silicone and rubber the same? All the elastomers are considered rubbers. … One of the key differences between silicone and rubber is that most of the rubbers contain polymer chains of carbon, however, silicone rubbers contain silicon in polymer chains instead of carbon.

What are the characteristics of rubber?


Physical properties of rubber include:

  • Hardness.
  • Tensile Strength.
  • Tensile Modulus.
  • Elongation.
  • Resilience.
  • Compression Set.
  • Tear Resistance.
  • Abrasion Resistance.

What is the most durable rubber material?

Nitrile. Nitrile (also known as Buna-N) is a copolymer of butadiene and acrylonitrile and one of the strongest rubber materials in applications involving oil and fuel. Add on top of that Nitrile’s superior resistance to heat makes it an ideal choice pumping fuel and oil in industrial and automotive settings.

How do you choose rubber material?


How to select rubber materials

  1. Electrical – Conductivity, resistivity.
  2. Costs – Is there a more cost-effective alternative available?
  3. Process – Injection moulding, compression moulding.
  4. Thermal – Resistance to heat, cold and fire.
  5. Environmental – Ozone, weather, chemicals.

Why is natural rubber better than synthetic?

An advantage natural rubber has over synthetic rubber is that natural rubber has higher tensile strength, higher tear resistance, and low odor compared to IR. … In addition, synthetic rubbers can have excellent heat resistance, lower temperature resistance, and heat aging improvements.

Is silicone a rubber product?

Silicone, scientifically known as polysiloxane, lies in a gray area, but it’s generally considered a rubber. It’s a human-made elastomer (a polymer with elastic properties) that has the properties of both plastic and rubber.

What is silicone made of?

While the main chain of common organic synthetic polymers consists of repeating carbon (C) atoms, silicone is an “inorganic synthetic polymer” whose main chain is made of polysiloxane, which is the repetition of silicon(Si) and oxygen(O) atoms(1,2).

Is silicone safe to use on rubber?

Finally, because silicone is easily absorbed and long-lasting, it is also a great preservative for rubber, plastic, nylon, vinyl… and even certain types of wood.

What are the characteristic or properties of rubber band?

Rubber’s elasticity, toughness, impermeability, adhesiveness, and electrical resistance make it useful as an adhesive, a coating composition, a fiber, a molding compound, and an electrical insulator.

What are the characteristics of plastic?


The Properties of Plastic

  • Lightweight with a high strength-to-weight ratio.
  • Can be manufactured inexpensively and mass produced.
  • Water resistant.
  • Shock resistant.
  • Thermally and electrically insulating.

What are properties of natural rubber?


Natural Rubber Properties

  • Abrasion Resistance: Excellent.
  • Tear Resistance: Excellent.
  • Solvent Resistance: Poor.
  • Oil Resistance: Poor.
  • Aging Weather/Sunlight: Poor.

What is hard rubber material?

Hard rubber is a plastic.

It is a resinous material mixed with a polymerizing or curing agent and fillers, and can be formed under heat and pressure to practically any desired shape. The bulk of today’s hard rubber is made with SBR synthetic rubber.

What makes rubber more durable?

The more sulfur used, the harder the rubber became. … Sulfur atoms also can form bonds among themselves (disulfide bonds) and cross-link adjacent polyisoprene strands to form a netlike structure in the rubber. This cross-linking strengthens the polyisoprene to make it harder, flexible and more durable.

Is neoprene a rubber?

Neoprene, or polychloroprene, is a synthetic rubber made up of polymers of chloroprene molecules through a process of free radical polymerization and various chemical reactions. The polymers are chemically treated to enhance polymer branching, for a more flexible material.

How do you choose hardness of rubber?

A lower number means a softer sponge, a higher number means a firmer sponge. To give an idea, a rubber-band is around 25 and a car tire is around 80. Most table tennis rubbers will be between 30 and 45. A lower number will tend to provide more spin at lower speeds (including serves).

What material is used in rubber?

Currently, rubber is harvested mainly in the form of the latex from the rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) or others. The latex is a sticky, milky and white colloid drawn off by making incisions in the bark and collecting the fluid in vessels in a process called “tapping”.

What kind of rubber is heat resistant?

Silicone. Silicone is the number one extreme temperature rubber available. It offers outstanding high-temperature resistance, with some compounds able to withstand temperatures up to 305 °C.

What are the advantages of natural rubber?

ADVANTAGES: NATURAL RUBBER exhibits high resilience, good tensile strength, and tear resistance. In addition to excellent wear resistance, NATURAL RUBBER also offers low permanent set characteristics plus good flexing qualities at low temperatures.

What is good about natural rubber?

Natural rubber boasts highly desirable properties, making it an excellent choice for a wide variety of products. One of these properties is a high tensile strength, as mentioned above. In this aspect, natural rubber is durable because it doesn’t break or weaken easily.

Is natural rubber more sustainable than synthetic rubber?

But is it sustainable? The answer is no. Natural rubber prices are volatile, and there are very real climatic and environmental threats to production, along with concerns about the exploitation of workers and destruction of biodiversity.

Can you use silicone if you are allergic to latex?

There are people who experience allergies to latex rubber, but since silicone rubber is derived from a totally different ingredient (silica sand), just because you are allergic to latex does not mean you are also allergic to silicone rubber.

Is silicone better than plastic?

Silicone is durable, and more ocean-friendly than plastic. It lasts longer, and stands up better against heat and cold than plastics. … When burned, silicone reverts back into its harmless ingredients: amorphous silica, carbon dioxide, and water vapor (unlike plastic which releases toxins when burned).