Controlling of Cure State of Latex Compounds

Manufacturer: We are facing problems of controlling the cure state of our latex compounds, resulting in our products being either tacky or having poor tensile strength.

John Woon (Senior Latex Consultant): The latex compound should be given sufficient time to mature at room temperature before commencing your dipping process.

The Chloroform Stage should be between 2 and 3, while the Toluene Swelling should be between 95% and 100%. If the latex compound is not sufficiently matured when used in the dipping process, under-cure of your products will ensue, and this will lead to a tackiness problem.

As a result, even when the curing temperature is increased and/or the cure time is increased,  the tackiness problem could still persist.

On the other hand, if the latex compound is over-cured (i.e., Chloroform stage 4 and toluene swelling more than 150%), the products would have poor physical properties, for example, poor tear strength and tensile strength, while the elongation at break is low.