Ageing of EPDM elastomers exposed to γ-radiation studied by 1H broadband and 13C high-resolution solid-state NMR
Abstract
Ageing of EPDM synthetic elastomers exposed to γ-irradiation has been investigated using solid-state NMR Spectroscopy. Both 13C high-resolution and 1H wideline measurements were carried out to evaluate chemical degradation including oxidation products formation, chain scission and crosslinking phenomena. Highly specific structures were tentatively proposed as a result of careful examination of 13C chemical shifts. The importance of diene monomer, the stabilising effect of curing process and the addition of antioxidants were evaluated on the basis of several polymer compositions.