The effect of temperature and peroxides content on cross-linking and properties of EPDM-based rubber matrix

In this work, dicumyl peroxide (DCP), di-tert-butyl peroxide (DTBP), di(tert-butylperoxyisopropyl)benzene (DTBPIB), and 2,5-dimethyl-2,5-di(tert-butylperoxy)hexane (DDTBPH) were used for cross-linking of rubber matrix based on Ethylene-propylene-diene monomer rubber (EPDM). The aim was to investigate the influence of curing temperature and the type and content of peroxide on curing process of rubber compounds, cross-link density, and physical-mechanical properties of vulcanizates. The results revealed that higher curing temperatures promote faster decomposition of organic peroxides, leading to the faster reactions of peroxide radicals with rubber chains. The increase in temperature resulted also in the increase of cross-linking degree. Although, side reactions as chain scission take over the main cross-linking reactions at very high temperatures resulting in the decrease of cross-link density. The increasing content of peroxides resulted in the acceleration of curing reactions and to increase of cross-link density. The fastest curing kinetics exhibited rubber compounds cured with DCP. However, vulcanizates cured with DCP were found to have the lowest cross-link density. In generally, the dependences of modulus, hardness, and elongation at break of vulcanizates were in line with the dependences of the cross-link densities, while higher tensile strength were found to have vulcanizates cured at higher temperatures and lower peroxides content.