ethylene-propylene copolymer

ethylene-propylene copolymer, a class of synthetic rubber produced by copolymerizing ethylene and propylene, usually in combination with other chemical compounds. In addition to elastic properties, ethylene-propylene copolymers display excellent resistance to electricity and ozone and an ability to be processed with a number of additives. They are made into products for use in automotive engines, electrical wiring, and construction.

There are two major types of ethylene-propylene copolymers with elastic properties: those made with ethylene and propylene alone and those made with small amounts (approximately 5 percent) of a diene—usually ethylidene norbornene or 1,4-hexadiene. (A diene is a hydrocarbon with two pairs of carbon atoms joined by a double bond. Ethylene and propylene are olefins, hydrocarbons in which there is only one carbon-carbon double bond.) The former is known as EPM (ethylene-propylene monomer) and the latter as EPDM (ethylene-propylene-diene monomer). The copolymers contain approximately 60 percent by weight ethylene.

Both EPM and EPDM are prepared by dissolving gaseous ethylene and propylene (and liquid diene) in an organic solvent such as hexane and subjecting them to the action of Ziegler-Natta catalysts. Ziegler-Natta catalysts are a class of organometallic compounds developed in the 1950s that permitted high-density polyethylene and polypropylene to be produced commercially; they also made possible the production of ethylene-propylene copolymers from the early 1960s. Under the action of these compounds, the double bonds in ethylene and propylene molecules (and one of the double bonds in the diene molecules) are opened so that one single bond can be used to link to a carbon atom of another molecule. In this way thousands of molecules can be joined together, or copolymerized, to produce very long chainlike ethylene-propylene and ethylene-propylene-diene molecules.

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A pronounced advantage of EPDM is that the residual carbon-carbon double bond (the double bond that remains in the diene molecule after polymerization) is attached to the polymer chain rather than being made part of it. Carbon-carbon double bonds are quite reactive. For example, ozone in the atmosphere adds quickly to a double bond to form an unstable product that spontaneously decomposes. Regular diene polymers, such as natural rubber or styrene-butadiene rubber, have many double bonds in the main chain, so when one double bond is attacked, the entire molecule is broken. EPDM, with the double bonds located in the side groups, is much less susceptible to degradation by weathering and sunlight; although the double bonds can be broken by ozonolysis, thermal deterioration, or oxidation, such processes will not break the main chains. In addition, some crystallinity appears to be induced by stretching, so, even without fillers, vulcanized ethylene-propylene copolymers are quite strong. However, like other hydrocarbon elastomers, the ethylene-propylene copolymers are swollen and weakened by hydrocarbon oils.

The principal uses of EPM are in automobile parts and as an impact modifier for polypropylene. EPDM is employed in flexible seals for automobiles, wire and cable insulation, weather stripping, tire sidewalls, hoses, and roofing film.

EPDM is also mixed with polypropylene to make a thermoplastic elastomer, a material that has the elastic properties of rubber yet can also be molded to permanent shapes like a plastic. These polymer blends, which usually contain 30 to 40 mole percent polypropylene, are not nearly as springy and elastic as conventional elastomers. However, owing to the thermoplastic properties of polypropylene, they can be processed and reprocessed, and they are resistant to oxidation, ozone attack, and weathering. They are used in low-severity applications such as shoes, flexible covers, and sealing strips. The trademarked product Santoprene, produced by Advanced Elastomer Systems, LP, is an example.