The Chemistry of Latex Balloons

There are many different kinds of pigments for balloons. Most are made of natural minerals like iron ore. The most common pigments are; Ultramarine Blue, sulfur-containing sodio-silicate (Na8-10Al6Si6O24S2-4) + lazurite (Na3CaAl3Si3O12S), Red, Hematite (Fe2O3), and Yellow Ochre, found in the mineral limonite, FeO(OH) nH2O.

Coagulant is the substance that allows the latex material to form to a mold when the balloon is being made. Coagulant ,Ca(NO3), is a polymer.

Chemistry's Role

3 Main Components:

• Latex
  • Naturally occurring from the Hevea Brasiliensis tree
  • In order for the latex to be suitable for balloon production the following is added to the latex:
    • curing agents* (not known)
    • accelerators* (not known)
    • oil* (not known)
    • color (pigment)
    • water
• Color pigment(s) (3 most common (primary))
  • Pigments are hydrates: or a compound in which water molecules are chemically bound to another compound or element
  • Most are made of natural minerals like iron ore
    • Ultramarine Blue
      • sulfur-containing sodio-silicate
        • (Na8-10Al6Si6O24S2-4) + lazurite (Na3CaAl3Si3O12S)
    • Red
      • Hematite (Fe2O3)
    • Yellow Ochre
      • FeO(OH) nH2O
      • found in the mineral limonite
    • Chrome Orange
      • lead(II) chromate + lead(II) oxide
      • PbCrO4+PbO
    • Viridian Green
      • hydrate chromium(III) oxide
      • Cr2O3
    • Manganese Violet
      • Manganese ammonium pyrophosphate
      • NH4MnP2O7
    • Iron Black
      • iron(IV) oxide
      • Fe3O4
    • Titanium White
      • titanium(IV) oxide
      • TiO2
• Coagulant
  • either metallic salts or polymers
    • metallic salts are chemical compounds produced in an acid bath (immerse a metal in a mixture of acid and potash (an alkali))
    • polymers: man-made organic made up of a long chain of smaller molecules
      • polymers are made by repetitive chemical bonding between individual molecules (monomers) + heat + pressure + a catalyst = polymer

Background Research

:Latex balloon making:

:How/What:

• acid bath needed every eight hours or so (to remove foreign particles)
• then put into a clean water bath (fresh water) (to remove acid)
• brushing (removes any foreign particles)
• warm the bath (70-80 degrees C)(setting process)
• 1st coagulant bath (for beading)
• 2nd coagulant bath for balloon (setting process)
• oven for drying the coagulant
• latex dip (mixed with pigments)
• put back into the oven for setting the latex
• beading
• leaching
• detack tank
• two ovens (80-90 degrees C)
• cooling
• stripped from rollers

:When:

• Michael Faraday
• 1824

:Where:

• The Royal Institution in London

:Why:

• Use in Faraday’s experiments with hydrogen (Ascending power)

Resources

https://www.balloonhq.com/faq/making.html

Where the latex come from

The components involved in making the latex balloon

http://members.tripod.com/the_common_loon/chem.html

What rubber is

http://chemwiki.ucdavis.edu/Organic_Chemistry/Polymers/Rubber_Polymers

Where rubber comes from and how rubber polymers are made

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulcanization

Describes what vulcanization is

http://www.chemistryexplained.com/Ny-Pi/Pigments.html

Tells where some inorganic pigments are from and what they are made of

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_inorganic_pigments

Tells about what the color pigments are made of

http://balloonseller.com/makecoagulant.htm

Explains what coagulant is made of

https://www.balloonhq.com/faq/making.html

Explains why coagulant is needed in making balloons

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJQecDCS1aI

Explains how a balloon is made

Made by the T.V. show “How It’s Made”

https://www.balloonhq.com/faq/making.html

Describes how the balloons are made and what some chemical processes are involved in making the balloons.

Tell you what is added to the latex to make it more suitable to be made into a balloon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balloon

Tells when and who first developed the latex balloon

https://www.balloonhq.com/faq/history.html

Tell you where the latex balloon was first used in an experiment

Also tells you why it was used in the experiment

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigment

What most pigments are made of

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultramarine

What the color pigment Ultramarine Blue is made of

http://www.cathaypigments.cn/english/images/technical/coating_grade_pdf/TDS-RED-Micronized.pdf

What Hematite Red pigment is made of

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ochre

What Yellow Ochre pigment is made of

http://water.me.vccs.edu/concepts/coagulantchemicals.html

What things are involved in making coagulant

http://www.atitd.org/wiki/tale6/Metal_Salts

Describes what metallic salts are

http://water.me.vccs.edu/courses/env110/Lesson4_print.htm

Tells you what polymers are

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-are-polymers-made/

Tells you how polymers are made

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