• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.18-23
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• 2013

Nylon 12 elastomer was slightly crosslinked in molten state by the addition of small amount of dicumyl peroxide (DCP) as a crosslink agent and triallycyanuate (TAC) as a co-agent during melt compounding at $160^{\circ}C$ in an internal mixer. The effect of the peroxide crosslinking on mechanical, dynamic mechanical and rheological properties of the nylon 12 elastomer was investigated by means of tensile testing, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and small amplitude oscillating rheometer, respectively. With modification, there is an improvement in tensile modulus and Young's modulus with decease in elongation at break. DMA results for peroxide modified nylon 12 elastomers demonstrated that the glass transiaiton temperature of PTMG segment shifted to higher temperature and the storage modulus remained constant above the melting temperature of nylon 12 segments. Melt rheological studies revealed that the peroxide modified nylon 12 elastomer exhibited a more solid like behavior and stronger shear thinning behavior compared to neat nylon 12 elastomer, which was more prominent at higher TAC content in the polymer matrix. The peroxide modified nylon 12 elastomer exhibited good elastic recoverability and improved mechanical properties without sacrificing melt processibilty, and especially the service temperature range increased as compared to neat nylon 12 elastomer.