A novel approach to improve the performance of TPV via self-nano reinforced network structure

Thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPVs) are high-performance polymeric materials classified as thermoplastic elastomers, and contain a continuous thermoplastic matrix with crosslinked elastomers as a dispersed phase. TPVs combine the high elasticity of crosslinked elastomers and the easy processability and recyclability of thermoplastics. The most widely produced TPV type is polypropylene (PP)/ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM), which is the focus of this study. In this study, polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane nanoparticles containing reactive side groups were used as coagents for PP/EPDM TPV system for the first time in the literature. The peroxide crosslinked PP/EPDM/POSS system was dynamically vulcanized in a lab-scale micro-compounder. The mechanical properties of samples were determined by tensile, hardness, and compression set analyses. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM) were used to evaluate the phase morphology. The results showed that nano-reinforced network structure improved the performance of the TPV materials.