A thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) is a unique polymeric material with properties and functional performance similar to those of a conventional vulcanized rubber; still it can be processed in a molten state as a thermoplastic polymer. The unique characteristics of TPEs make them very useful and attractive alternatives for conventional elastomers in a variety of markets, such as automotives, buildings and constructions, wires and cables etc. Thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPVs) are a special class of TPEs, produced by simultaneously mixing and crosslinking a rubber with a thermoplastic. TPVs based on PP/EPDM blends are the most important from a commercial viewpoint. When a peroxide is added as the crosslinking agent to a PP/EPDM blend, two competing processes take place simultaneously: EPDM crosslinking and PP degradation by chain scission. Therefore, there is a need for a proper peroxide in combination with a suitable co-agent to diminish the extent of PP degradation and...
