Dynamically vulcanized blends of polypropylene and ethylene octene copolymer: Influence of various coagents on mechanical and morphological characteristics

Dynamically cured blends of polypropylene (PP) and ethylene octene copolymer (EOC) with coagent‐assisted peroxide curative system were prepared by melt‐mixing method. It was well established that PP exhibits β‐chain scission in the presence of peroxide. Principally, incorporation of a coagent increases the crosslinking efficiency in the EOC phase and decreases the extent of degradation in the PP phase. The present study mainly focused on the influence of three structurally different coagents, namely, triallyl cyanurate (TAC), trimethylol propane triacrylate (TMPTA), and N,N′‐m‐phenylene dimaleimide (MPDM), on the mechanical properties of the PP/EOC thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPVs). The reactivity and efficiency of different coagents were characterized by cure study on EOC gum vulcanizate. TAC showed the highest torque values followed by MPDM and TMPTA. Significant improvements in the physical properties of the TPVs were inferred with the addition of coagents. Among the three coagents used, MPDM showed the best balance of mechanical properties in these TPVs. The results indicated that torque values obtained during mixing and the final mechanical properties can be correlated. Different aspects were explained for the selection of a coagent that forms a product with desired properties. The phase morphologies of the TPVs prepared were studied by scanning electron microscopy. Tensile fracture patterns were also analyzed to study the failure mechanism of the samples. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009