EFFECTS OF 4,4′-BISMALEIMIDODIPHENYLMETHANE CURING AGENT ON MORPHOLOGICAL, RHEOLOGICAL, AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF DYNAMICALLY VULCANIZED BIIR/POLYPROPYLENE ELASTOMERS

Abstract

ABSTRACT The morphological, rheological, and mechanical properties of BIIR/polypropylene (PP) blends with various amounts of 4,4′-bismaleimidodiphenylmethane (BMI) curing agent were studied. As the level of BMI curing agent increased, the rubber single particle size decreased, but the interaction among the particles strengthened to form aggregates. The rheological properties were determined with a high-pressure capillary rheometer and a rotational rheometer. It was found that the rheological behavior was affected by both the BMI content and the morphology of the blends. The increased BMI content led to the smaller vulcanized BIIR rubber particles dispersing in the PP continuous phase because of the improvement in cross-linking speed and degree as well as the viscosity of BIIR. The dynamic vulcanization strongly improved the elasticity of the blends. The storage modulus, loss modulus, and complex viscosity of cured BIIR/PP blends were all obviously higher than those of the uncured blend, whereas the values of tan δ showed the opposite trend. The as-prepared BIIR/PP thermoplastic vulcanizate exhibited suitable hardness and good mechanical properties.