PVC/NBR blends by reactive processing I:: In situ dynamic vulcanization process

Dynamic vulcanization is a process of vulcanization of an elastomer during melt mixing with a thermoplastic wich results in material called thermoplastic vulcanizates or TPVs. In this study, a new kind of TPV was obtained by in situ dynamic curing of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC)/nitrile rubber (NBR) blends. The crosslinking of PVC/NBR blends was accomplished using sulphur (S)/tetramethylthiuram disulphide (TMTD) and mercaptobenzthiazyl disulphide (MBTS) curative system during the reactive processing. The blends of PVC/NBR at the ratio of 90/10; 80/20 and 70/30 wt. (%) were melt mixed using a Haake Rheomix 600 at 160 degrees C and rotor speed of 60 rpm. The curing behavior of NBR was investigated by a Monsanto Rheometer and the degree of cure was calculated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) for different mixing times. It was observed that the degree of cure increases with the mixing time and the crosslinking system used in this work was considered efficient.