Nonuniformity in natural rubber as revealed by small-angle neutron scattering, small-angle X-ray scattering, and atomic force microscopy.

The microscopic structures of natural rubber (NR) and deproteinized NR (DPNR) were investigated by means of small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). They were compared to those of isoprene rubber (IR), which is a synthetic analogue of NR in terms of chemical structure without any non-rubber components like proteins. Comparisons of the structure and mechanical properties of NR, DPNR, and IR lead to the following conclusions.