The quality of rubber products is strongly affected by the dispersion of the filler material and the vulcanization state; however, it is difficult to rapidly and nondestructively evaluate these conditions by conventional techniques. In this study, we investigated these properties with the use of THz radiation. Our examination of the THz spectroscopic characteristics of ingredients used in rubber products revealed that a typical filler material, carbon black (CB), has an extremely large apparent THz absorbance compared with those of other materials owing to the metal-like properties of CB. Through the use of this strong THz absorbance, the CB dispersion in rubber products was simply determined. We also evaluated a ruptured specimen from tensile tests. Through the use of the THz technique, we visualized a poorer CB dispersion at the ruptured section. We collected data on the crosslink densities in the rubber products created by vulcanization and were able to accurately evaluate their curing condition. We show that the THz absorbance was proportional to the crosslink density enabling rapid and nondestructive evaluation of the curing state.

中文翻译：

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太赫兹时域光谱仪评估橡胶产品

橡胶产品的质量受填充材料的分散性和硫化状态的强烈影响；然而，通过常规技术难以快速且无损地评估这些条件。在这项研究中，我们使用太赫兹辐射研究了这些特性。我们对橡胶制品中所用成分的太赫兹光谱特性的研究表明，由于CB具有类似金属的特性，与其他材料相比，炭黑（CB）是典型的填充材料，其表观太赫兹吸收率非常大。通过使用这种强的太赫兹吸收率，可以简单地确定橡胶产品中的CB分散度。我们还通过拉伸试验评估了破裂的样品。通过使用太赫兹技术，我们可以看到破裂处的CB分散性较差。我们收集了硫化产生的橡胶产品中交联密度的数据，并能够准确评估其硫化条件。我们表明，太赫兹吸收率与交联密度成正比，从而能够快速且无损地评估固化状态。