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Cross‐linking of tetrafluoroethylene‐perfluoro (methylvinyl ether) elastomers with electron beam irradiation
Author(s) -
Logothetis A. L.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-4628(19970110)63:2<147::aid-app2>3.0.co;2-v
Subject(s) - bromine , compression set , irradiation , polymer , tetrafluoroethylene , materials science , curing (chemistry) , polymer chemistry , elastomer , ether , ultimate tensile strength , chemical engineering , copolymer , chemistry , organic chemistry , composite material , natural rubber , physics , nuclear physics , engineering , metallurgy
Perfluoroelastomeric articles were cross‐linked by electron beam irradiation. Irradiation experiments were carried out on the pure polymer free of fillers, processing aids, or curing chemicals. Doses of 10‐15 Mrads are adequate to give gel content of > 95%. The compression set, tensile strength, and chemical resistance of O‐rings thus cross‐linked are very good and comparable to those of chemically cross‐linked ones. There is little difference in terms of efficiency of cross‐linking and properties among perfluoroelastomers containing various functionalities, such as nitrile, iodine, bromine, hydrogen, and perfluorbenzene. In addition to cross‐linking, irradiation causes structural changes, such as formation of acid fluorides on the polymeric chain ends as a result of main‐chain scissions and generation of small amounts of volatile products (CF 4 , COF 2 , CO 2 , CF 3 OCF 3 ) attributed to side‐chain scissions. The cross‐links appear to be thermally and chemically stable carbon‐carbon bonds. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.