Journal of Radiation Research and Radiation Processing, Volume. 42, Issue 3, 030204(2024)

Preparation of natural rubber (NR)/ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer (EPDM) blends by radiation crosslinking and its heat resistance to air aging

Yong SHI1, Anren CHENG2、*, Pei DAI3、**, Yang JIAO2, Yongjun LU2, and Yueying GUO2
Author Affiliations
  • 1[in Chinese]
  • 2Beijing Key Laboratory of Radiation Advanced Materials, Beijing Research Center for Radiation Application, Beijing 100015, China
  • 3Beijing Shaanxi Coal Hi-tech Research Institute Co., Ltd., Beijing 100095, China
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    To improve the compatibility of natural rubber (NR) and ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer (EPDM) and enhance the resistance of NR/EPDM blends to hot air aging, radiation-vulcanized NR/EPDM blends were prepared by γ-ray radiation. The effects of blend ratio and radiation vulcanization on the mechanical properties of the blends were investigated by using a uniaxial tensile test. With increasing EPDM content, the tensile strength and elongation at break of the hot-vulcanized sample first decreased and then increased due to the poor compatibility between NR and EPDM. In addition, the mechanical properties of the radiation-vulcanized sample degraded with increasing blend ratio of EPDM. The irradiation treatment improved the initial mechanical properties of the NR/EPDM rubber, and radiation crosslinking enhanced the coupling structure between the NR and EPDM polymer. Following aging treatment in hot air, the mechanical properties of the radiation-vulcanized sample were found to be less degraded than those of the hot-vulcanized one. This proved that the introduction of radiation technology via thermal crosslinking improved the elongation retention rate of the radiative crosslinked sample after thermal aging. In particular, the change rate of elongation at break of the radiation sample was reduced by ~50% when the blend ratio of the NR was greater than that of EPDM. The results showed that the NR/EPDM blends prepared by radiation vulcanization had greater resistance to hot air aging than those prepared by hot vulcanization.

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    Yong SHI, Anren CHENG, Pei DAI, Yang JIAO, Yongjun LU, Yueying GUO. Preparation of natural rubber (NR)/ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer (EPDM) blends by radiation crosslinking and its heat resistance to air aging[J]. Journal of Radiation Research and Radiation Processing, 2024, 42(3): 030204

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    Paper Information

    Category: Research Articles

    Received: Nov. 30, 2023

    Accepted: Jan. 2, 2024

    Published Online: Jul. 18, 2024

    The Author Email: CHENG Anren (程安仁), DAI Pei (代培)

    DOI:10.11889/j.1000-3436.2023-0109

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