Effects of Co-Agents on the Properties of Peroxide-Cured Ethylene-Propylene Diene Rubber (EPDM)

The influence of three different co-agents, triallyl isocyanurate (TAIC), trimethylol propane trimethacrylate (TMPTMA) and high vinyl poly(butadiene) (HVPBd), on the curing characteristics, including the cure kinetics, of peroxide-cured EPDM compounds and the mechanical properties of the resulting EPDM vulcanizates were studied. The results showed that the addition of each co-agent could improve the cure extent of the EPDM samples; the hardness and modulus of the EPDM vulcanizates were also improved. In particular, the compound containing TAIC obtained the highest cure extent. However, the addition of TMPTMA negatively affected the scorch safety, especially below 165°C. From the cure kinetics of the EPDM compounds, obtained by using the cure data from a moving die rheometer, it was found that the Deng–Isayev, first-order and Hsich models showed better agreement with experimental data compared to the Kamal–Sourour model. The reaction rate constants were gradually increased with the elevated temperature, and TMPTMA could significantly promote the curing reaction rate, TAIC secondly, while HVPBd showed no effect. In addition, the apparent activation energy of all EPDM compounds, calculated by the Deng–Isayev model, was estimated slightly higher than that of the other three kinetic models. However, due to the addition of the three co-agents, the activation energy of the curing reaction decreased, with the EPDM compound with TAIC showing the lowest activation energy.