A new strategy applying ternary blends of modified natural rubber with fluoroplastic and fluorocarbon elastomer for high-performance thermoplastic vulcanizate

High-performance thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPVs) are a class of specialty polymers with exceptional mechanical properties, rubber-like elasticity, excellent processability and recyclability, and an excellent price-performance ratio that make them ideal for a variety of industrial applications. In this work, a successful method of creating high-performance TPV using a ternary blend of poly(methyl methacrylate) modified natural rubber (MGNR), poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF), and fluorocarbon elastomer (FKM) was employed. Combining NR known for its exceptional rubber elasticity and resilience, with fluoropolymers, known for their exceptional chemical resistance and thermal stability, resulted in materials with a synergistic blend of properties. The developed PVDF/FKM/MGNR blend showed higher elasticity, tensile strength, and elongation at break than PVDF/FKM and PVDF/MGNR blends because the ternary blend had greatly improved phase morphology and compatibility between the three phases. The domain size in the ternary blend was smaller than 150 nm. The ternary blends also exhibited excellent thermal properties, where melting and crystallization temperatures were reduced significantly with MGNR due to possible dipole-dipole interactions. At the same time, the oil resistance and shape memory behavior of PVDF/FKM/MGNR were improved at an appropriate blend ratio. The ternary TPVs demonstrated good shape fixities (90–100 %) and shape recoveries (70–80 %). This research offers valuable insights into the design of high-performance thermoplastic elastomers based on natural rubber, which have excellent mechanical properties, solvent resistance, and potential for intelligent and lightweight application.