Scorch Protected Peroxides for Vulcanization of Elastomers

Peroxides can be used to crosslink a wide variety of elastomers and plastics including totally saturated polymers that are not curable by other means.  In selecting the appropriate peroxide to use for a particular rubber compound, the stability of the peroxide, as measured by the half life temperature, is usually the first criterion to consider.  In a specific temperature range, a more stable peroxide (higher half lufe temperature) will provide better protection against premature crosslinking (i.e. scorch).  Unfortunately it may be so stable that it requires excessive time to complete the cure which could lead to unreasonable cycle times.  A less stable peroxide would provide a quicker overall cure but may be more prone to scorch leading to higher scrap rates and clogged processing equipment. 

To address this predicament, Arkema has developed a series of scorch protected peroxides which are capable of providing protection against scorch while not affecting the overall cure time.  This presentation will include data on these scorch protection peroxide products as well as a discussion of the advantages that they provide.