Mechanical properties, thermal stability, and thermal degradation kinetics of silicone rubber/ethylene‐vinyl acetate copolymer/magnesium sulfate whisker composites compatibilized by ethylene‐acrylic acid copolymer

Abstract

Silicone rubber/ethylene‐vinyl acetate copolymer/magnesium sulfate whisker composites containing ethylene‐acrylic acid copolymer (MS/SR/EVM/EAA) as a compatibilizer were successfully prepared. Moreover, the magnesium sulfate whisker surface was modified with 3 wt% of silane coupling agent (KH570), resulting in composites including (unmodified magnesium sulfate whisker) uMS/SR/EVM, (modified magnesium sulfate whisker) mMS/SR/EVM, and mMS/SR/EVM/EAA were compared. The values of thermal decomposition activation energy (Ea) calculated by the two different methods (Kissinger and Friedman methods) show that the composites filled with 5 and 20 phr whiskers have lower values of activation energy (Ea) than the SR/EVM blend. The tensile strength of composites with a 5 phr modified whisker is 14.5 MPa, which is higher than that of the SR/EVM blend and uMS5/SR/EVM composite. The tear strength of the composite with 20 phr mMS is 51.6 kN m−1, much higher than that of the composite with 20 phr uMS and SR/EVM blend. The mechanical properties were also investigated after thermal aging of the composites at 85°C for 48 h. The thermal conductivity of the composites with high filler loading was studied.

Effects of maleic anhydride on the moisture crosslinking of EVM‐GMA grafted with amino silane

“…Ethylene‐vinyl acetate rubber (EVM) is a binary copolymerization of vinyl monomer and vinyl acetate monomer (VA, content: 40%–80%) 1,2 . EVM rubber has excellent elasticity and flame retardancy, oil resistance, aging resistance, and other properties, 3–6 which makes it widely used in the cable industry, sealing, and automotive accessories 7–9 . EVM is usually vulcanized by peroxide vulcanization system.…”