An examination was carried out on the determination of crosslink density in the vulcanized rubber forms by pulsed NMR. The rubber used was an ethylene-propylene-diene rubber (EPDM). The crosslinked EPDM was obtained by curing EPDM with sulfur vulcanization. The vulcanized EPDM forms were produced by using several kinds of forming agents. The crosslink density of non-cellular EPDM determined by equilibrium swelling and extensional experiments was well correlated with the spin-spin relaxation time (T
2) at high temperatures around 120°C. Further, the T
2 of vulcanized EPDM forms was not affected by the existence of cellular structure. The results made it possible to determine the crosslink density in the vulcanized EPDM forms by NMR method. By using the technique, it was possible to evaluate the cure efficiency of vulcanized EPDM forms which was affected by forming agents.
View full abstract