Photochemical crosslinking of ethylene-vinyl-acetate and ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer blends

Laser-induced crosslinking in ethylene-vinyl-acetate and ethylene-propylene-diene elastomer blends was investigated. The degree of crosslinking was estimated by conventional sol-gel measurement. Dependence of crosslinking efficiency on laser parameters, such as the wavelength and the duration of exposure of the radiation, and the temperature of the sample during irradiation was investigated. Also, the effect of incorporation of photoinitiators, antioxidant and pigment into the blend matrices was studied. Photodegradation was found to compete with crosslinking. However, the crosslinking was drastically reduced by the incorporation of antioxidant into the bulk of the blend. In addition to the above measurements, the changes in the tensile properties of the blends are also reported.