Chemical Resistance Of Polychloroprene Rubber

Manufacturer: One of our customers has insisted that we use Polychloroprene (e.g.Neoprene) for the product we make for them because they said the polymer "has good chemical resistance". Can you please tell us more about this so-called "chemical resistance"?

John Woon (Senior Latex and Rubber Consultant):  Your customer is partly right. Polychloroprene is generally resistant to most inorganic chemicals  but not the highly oxidizing agents such as concentrated sulphuric, chromic and nitric acids. Bases and salts usually have little effect up to about 65°C. Aromatic organic hydrocarbon sometimes swell and soften Polychloroprene products. However, it has good resistance to many aliphatic hydrocarbons, organic acids, petroleum products, alcohols, glycerine, glycols, vegetable and animal fats and oils.

It might interest you to know that Polychloroprene has excellent resistance to ozone attack compared to most other rubbers.


Click Here  For Chemical Resistance Chart of Neoprene

Note: Please use this only as a guide. You should test your products to simulate actual service condition with each chemical because the degree of chemical resistance also depends on your compound formulation.


 

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