Morphology and surface chemistry of vulcanized EPDM rubber modified by Ag (II)

Ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber has been widely used in the various outdoor and industrial applications. However, in order to improve its adhesion properties it needs some surface modification. Mediated electrochemical oxidation (MEO) by Ag (II) was thus employed to evaluate the feasibility of EPDM surface modification. The morphology and surface chemistry of the activated EPDM rubber by Ag (II) ions were then analyzed and ATR analysis revealed presence of oxygen-containing polar groups on the modified rubber surface. SEM results showed that the short treatment time at room temperature only changes the morphology of the rubber surface which is attributed to the etching of the outermost surface