Electron-Induced Reactive Processing of Poly(propylene)/Ethylene-Octene Copolymer Blends: A Novel Route to Prepare Thermoplastic Vulcanizates.

TPVs are prepared by dynamic vulcanization in which crosslinking of an elastomeric polymer takes place during its melt mixing with a thermoplastic polymer under high-shear conditions. 30:70 wt% blends of PP and ethylene-octene copolymer are vulcanized using electron-induced reactive processing (EIReP) employing a range of absorbed doses (25, 50, and 100 kGy) while keeping the electron energy and treatment time fixed. The structure/property relationships of the prepared samples are studied using various characterization techniques such as DMA, DSC, SEM, and melt rheology. The results suggest that EIReP offers a novel route to prepare TPVs without any chemical crosslinking and coupling agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]