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Detection of the Destruction Mechanism of Perfluorinated Elastomer (FFKM) Network under Thermo-oxidative Aging Conditions

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Abstract

The changes of crosslinking network of perfluorinated elastomer (FFKM) cured by TAIC and DBPH under thermo-oxidative aging conditions were investigated. Two competitive processes including post-curing and network destruction occur simultaneously, which directly affect the storage modulus and crosslinking density. With the increase of aging temperature, the network destruction becomes dominant. FTIR and XPS characterizations further reveal that the network destruction happens preferentially on the crosslink points of TAIC structure, and the post-curing is mainly caused by the decomposition of residual curing agent DBPH. Unlike the easier breaking of TAIC structure in the crosslinking network, both the backbone and the pendent groups of FFKM itself are much more stable. To further figure out the destruction mechanism, TGA-FTIR-GC-MS test was also conducted and a schematic degradation process of TAIC structure was proposed. It is found that the destruction of TAIC crosslinking points happens first on the unstable exocyclic C-N bonds and the intermediate ring radicals could eventually decompose into volatile hydrogen isocyanate (HCNO) under extreme condition.

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Acknowledgments

G. X. Li acknowledges the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51721091). Y. H. Niu acknowledges the financial supports from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51873125 and 52073184) and Research Foundation (International Program) of Science and Technology Department of Sichuan Province (No. 2019YFH0027).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Polymer Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering of China, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, China

    Wen-Yue Zhuo, Qi-Long Wang, Gao Li, Guo Yang, Yan-Hua Niu & Guang-Xian Li

  2. Aerospace Research Institute of Materials & Processing Technology, Beijing, 100076, China

    Huan Zhang & Wen Xu

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  1. Wen-Yue Zhuo
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  2. Qi-Long Wang
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  3. Gao Li
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  4. Guo Yang
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  5. Huan Zhang
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  6. Wen Xu
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  7. Yan-Hua Niu
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  8. Guang-Xian Li
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Correspondence to Yan-Hua Niu or Guang-Xian Li.

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Detection of the Destruction Mechanism of Perfluorinated Elastomer (FFKM) Network under Thermo-oxidative Aging Conditions

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Zhuo, WY., Wang, QL., Li, G. et al. Detection of the Destruction Mechanism of Perfluorinated Elastomer (FFKM) Network under Thermo-oxidative Aging Conditions. Chin J Polym Sci 40, 504–514 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-022-2692-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-022-2692-6

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