ABSTRACT
A thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) is a material that is processed in the same manner as a conventional thermoplastic but gives a finished article with properties and performance similar to those of a thermoset rubber. Thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPVs, referred to as elastomeric alloys in some earlier literature) are a generic class of TPEs with a chemically cross-linked rubber phase in a continuous matrix of thermoplastic. TPVs thus have properties significantly better than those of the same rubber/thermoplastic composition with little or no cross-linking of the rubber phase (i.e., and olefinic blend).
