Cure kinetics and chemorheology of EPDM/graphene oxide nanocomposites

• Graphene oxide content and dispersion as effective parameters on cure kinetics.
• Graphene oxide as an effective controlling factor of crosslink density.
• Interaction of graphene oxide with curing system (ZnO) during curing process.

In this study, the effect of graphene oxide on cure behavior of ethylene–propylene–diene rubber (EPDM) nanocomposite is studied. In this regard, the cure kinetics of nanocomposite is studied employing different empirical methods. The required activation energy of nth-order cure process shows about 160 kJ/mol increments upon 5 phr graphene oxide loading compared to 1 phr graphene oxide loading. However, the required activation energy is significantly reduced followed by incorporation of graphene oxide in nanocomposites compared to neat EPDM sample. Furthermore, the effect of graphene oxide on structural properties of nanocomposites during the cure process is studied using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry techniques. As the results show, graphene oxide interestingly affects the structure of zinc oxide during the vulcanization process. This behavior could be probably related to high tendency of zinc oxide to react with oxidized surface of graphene oxide.

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