Search

The graft polymerization of acrylonitrile (AN) or acrylic acid (AA) onto ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer rubber (EPDM) was carried out in toluene, using dibenzoyl peroxide (BPO) as an initiator. The synthesized AN--g--EPDM and AA--g--EPDM were characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). AN--g--EPDM and AA--g--EPDM were incorporated into chloroprene rubber (CR)/EPDM and butadiene acrylonitrile rubber (NBR)/EPDM blends. The compatibility of EPDM/CR and EPDM/NBR blends was examined with scanning electron microscope (SEM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The physico-mechanical properties of the vulcanizates were investigated after and before thermal aging. AN--g--EPDM and AA--g--EPDM improved the morphology of CR/EPDM and NBR/EPDM rubber blends. The mechanical properties illustrate that the compatibilized blends possessed good thermal stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]