Evaluation of compatibility of EPDM and butyl rubber —II. Thermal and radiation stability.docVIP

Polymer Degradation and Stability Volume 62, Issue 3 , December 1998, Pages 569-574 Evaluation of compatibility of EPDM and butyl rubber—II. Thermal and radiation stability Traian Zaharescua, *, Silviu Jipaa, Maria Giurgincab and Cornel Podinac a RD Institute for Electrical Engineering, 313 Splaiul Unirii, Bucharest 74204, Romaniab CERELAST, 181 Sos. Oltenitei, Bucharest 79628, Romaniac Faculty of Chemistry, University of Bucharest, 13 Carol I Av., Bucharest 70346, Romania Received 5 November 1997; accepted 30 December 1997. Available online 24 March 1999.  Abstract The exposure of ethylene-propylene terpolymer/butyl rubber blends to gamma radiation was carried out in order to evaluate the level of their compatibilization. Three concentrations of the components (3:1, 1:1 and 1:3) were prepared. Gel content measurements were performed in o-xylene and oxygen uptake was used to characterize the oxidation stability of irradiated specimens. The optimal dose range for efficient crosslinking of EPDM/IIR blends is around 200?kGy. The derivatives of the [O2]=f(t) dependences indicate the order of thermal stability of radiochemically processed samples. Index Terms: Polymer blends; Rubber; Terpolymers; Polyethylenes; Polypropylenes; Thermodynamic stability; Radiation effects; Gamma rays; Gels; Oxygen; Xylene; Oxidation; Crosslinking; Butyl rubber; Compatibilization; Radiation stability   Article Outline 1. Introduction 2. Experimental 3. Results and discussion 4. Conclusion References   1. Introduction The thermal oxidation of polymers has attracted much interest due to its importance in various applications. The service life is determined by oxidation stability. High energy irradiation has recently received a great deal of attention for many reasons, including the ability to crosslink various polymers, the lower cost of processing, and the waste-free technologies. It is well known that the exposure of the crosslinking type polymers to γ-radiation or to acce