Degradation and crosslinking of polyisoprene in Hevea Brasiliensis latex during processing and storage

It has been found that storage hardening in rubber is inhibited by certain amines and reagents for carbonyl compounds. The technological importance and theoretical significance of these observations are discussed. It is postulated that carbonyl groups present in the rubber molecule are responsible for crosslinking on storage of dry rubber, while it is known that peroxidation is responsible for degradative changes and a major part of the crosslinking of rubber in preserved latex.