Thermally Induced Crosslinking in Blends of Poly(Vinyl Chloride) and Hydrogenated Acrylonitrile—Butadiene Rubber

Abstract A blend of Poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) and hydrogenated acrylonitrile—butadiene rubber (HNBR) undergoes crosslinking at high molding temperatures in the absence of any external curing agents. This is evident from Monsanto rheometric, solvent swelling, and infrared spectroscopic studies. The reaction proceeds through the interaction of allylic and tertiary chlorine in PVC, with amide and acid groups in HNBR formed during molding. The network structure is believed to consist of amide and ester crosslinks. Dynamic mechanical analysis and differential scanning calorimetry show that the blend components are miscible Variation in molding time and temperature has no effect on the miscibility.