Future Prospects of Thermoplastic Elastomers and Thermoplastic Vulcanizates Based on Acrylonitrile Butadiene Rubber and Ethylene Methyl Acrylate co-polymer A Review

Abstract

The purpose of this review is to describe the various aspects Thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) which are class of materials that have industrial viability because of economical leverage that they offer by having the properties of cross linked elastomers without associated with costs of the chemical cross linking process. TPEs are two-phase in nature, a thermoplastic phase which accounts for their processing behavior and an elastomeric phase which accounts for their elastic behavior. The elastomer particles should be cross linked to promote elasticity. The best way to produce thrmoplastic elastomeric compositions comprising vulcanized elastomer particles in melt processable plastic matrices is by dynamic vulcanization. The improvements in properties of blends resulting from dynamic vulcanization are numerous. This review paper covers the work being carried out from the last 20 years in the field of Acrylonitrile Butadiene Rubber (NBR) and its blends. The position of NBR as the standard polymer for rubber goods that are exposed to oils, liquid fuels, and greases is likely to be depending very much on the fuels of the future. Attempts have been made the possibility of developing NBR and Ethylene-Methyl Acrylate copolymer (EMA) grades and processing methods and working out new and more suitable recipes endeavoring to ensure the continued use of this material in such applications.