Electron beam effect on the mechanical, thermal and mobility properties of the DGEBA/EPDM blend

The search for the development of new materials is a subject that attracts researchers from various areas of knowledge. The possibility of creating or discovering a new polymeric blend that can be applied in certain specific situations is of high importance to modern society. DGEBA/EPDM blend can be used to coat the surface of other materials and protect them from high thermal and mechanical conditions. The aim of this work was to obtain, characterize and irradiate the DGEBA/EPDM blend and compare their thermal and mechanical properties with a non-irradiated DGEBA/EPDM blend. The blends were obtained with 25.0 and 50.0 wt.% of DGEBA. In addition, the blends were irradiated at 30 and 60 kGy at dose rate 22.41 kGy/s. Mechanical tensile and elongation tests at rupture, thermal tests (DMA and TGA), chemiluminescence, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), swelling and Fourier transform infrared absorption vibrational spectroscopy (FTIR) were performed. It was concluded that DGEBA/EPDM irradiated blends can be used for many applications due to the improvement of their mechanical, thermal and structural properties. Its properties after irradiation process, were satisfactory for applications requiring high strength materials. (author)