Reactively compatibilized and dynamically vulcanized thermoplastic elastomers based on high-density polyethylene and reclaimed rubber

Melt blending was employed to prepare thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) of reclaimed rubber (RR) and high density polyethylene (HDPE). Mechanical properties of TPE samples were improved in different methods including dynamic vulcanization and reactive blending (reactive compatibilization) during melt mixing in an internal Haake mixer. The physical and mechanical properties of the TPE blends were investigated by the dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and tensile tests. The thermal behavior was characterized by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The phase morphology of the blends was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Experimental results showed that, both static and dynamic mechanical properties of reactively-compatibilized and dynamically-vulcanized samples improved significantly compared with the virgin samples. The effect of dynamic-vulcanization and reactivecompatibilization on the mechanical properties revealed that the Young’s modulus and storage modulus increased with both improvement methods. SEM results showed that, dynamic-vulcanization and reactivecompatibilization methods improved the distribution of RR particles in HDPE matrix. Although both methods improved the thermal and mechanical properties of the HDPE/RR blends, dynamic-vulcanization was more effective and promising approach due to the higher properties of HDPE/RR blends prepared by this method.