Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM)

Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer RubberEPDM

Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) rubber is a copolymer of ethylene, propylene, and a small amount of non-conjugated diene. It is a type of ethylene propylene rubber, denoted as EPDM. Due to its main chain being composed of chemically stable saturated hydrocarbons with unsaturated double bonds only in the side chains, it exhibits excellent aging resistance properties such as ozone resistance, heat resistance, and weather resistance. It is widely used in automotive parts, waterproof building materials, wire and cable sheathing, heat-resistant hoses, tapes, automotive seals, and other fields.

Properties

Compared to other commonly used general-purpose or specialty rubbers, the main performance advantages of EPDM rubber lie in the following aspects:

(1) High cost-effectiveness, with a raw rubber density of only 0.86–0.90 kg/m³, making it the lightest commonly used rubber; it can also be heavily filled to reduce compound costs.

(2) Excellent aging resistance, including resistance to weather, ozone, sunlight, heat, water, steam, ultraviolet light, and radiation. When blended with other unsaturated diene rubbers such as NR, SBR, BR, NBR, and CR, EPDM can act as a polymeric antioxidant or anti-aging agent.

(3) Outstanding resistance to chemicals, including acids, alkalis, detergents, animal and vegetable oils, alcohols, ketones, etc.; exceptional resistance to water, hot water, and steam; and good resistance to polar oils.

(4) Excellent insulation properties, with a volume resistivity of 10¹⁶ Ω·cm, breakdown voltage of 30–40 MV/m, and dielectric constant (1 kHz, 20°C) of 2.27.

(5) Wide operating temperature range, with a minimum service temperature of -40 to -60°C and the ability to be used long-term at temperatures up to 130°C.