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Compatibilization of Natural Rubber/EPDM Blends by Anhydride‐ and Mercapto‐functionalized Copolymers

The compatibilization of natural rubber (NR)/ethylene‐propylene‐ethylidenenorbornene (EPDM) rubber blends was performed by using anhydride‐ and mercapto‐functionalized copolymers. EPDM functionalized with mercapto (EPDMSH) and anhydride groups (EPDM‐g‐MA), as well as ethylene‐vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) functionalized with mercapto (EVASH) and anhydride groups (EVA‐g‐MA) were employed in small proportion in NR/EPDM (70:30 wt.%) blends. All functionalized copolymers resulted in an improvement of ultimate tensile strength, but the best results were achieved with the addition of 2.5 phr of EVA‐g‐MA. The rheological experiments performed on a rheological processing analyzer (RPA) revealed that the addition of small amount of EVASH resulted in a substantial increase of elastic modulus of non‐vulcanized blends, indicating effective interaction between the blend components. The solvent uptake experiments suggest a co‐vulcanization process in blends compatibilized with functionalized EVA.