ABSTRACT
Thermoplastic elastomers are rubbery materials which can be processed by equipment usually associated with thermoplastic resins. There is an obvious growing interest in products that can be turned directly into finished goods in striking contrast with the lengthy three-step process required by conventional elastomers: compounding, shaping and curing. Order has since come out of chaos and the host of products put on the market have gradually found their application areas. Among these, the dynamically cured PP/EPDM blends have materialized into a number of interesting, large volume products. EPDM composition, composition distribution, molecular weight distribution and ethylene sequences determine the flexibility of the molecular chain as well as its tendency toward crystallization and hence the viscoelastic properties of the elastomer and compositions made thereof.
