Electron Beam Curing of Elastomers

Abstract Modification of thermoplastic and rubbery materials by electron beam (EB) radiation is a potential method for development of new polymers and composites. Irradiation of polymeric materials results in grafting and subsequently formation of a three dimensional network through the union of generated macro radicals. In the Green drive, i.e. to make the world pollution free, this technology takes an important position. Curing of a number of both non-polar and polar elastomers using an electron beam was carried out in our laboratory. The effects of irradiation dose in presence and absence of radiation sensitizer on the crosslinking and structure of ethylene propylene rubber, ethylene octene copolymer, nitrile, acrylic and fluorocarbon rubbers were investigated. An analysis of crosslink to scission ratio on the basis of Charlesby-Pinner Equation was done. Mechanical and dynamic mechanical properties showed that these improved with radiation dose and sensitizer level up to certain values, beyond which the properties deteriorated due to chain scission reactions. The properties of the vulcanizates were correlated with the structure. EB cured samples were compared with the samples having conventional crosslinks. Some applications of the electron beam curing are highlighted.