The effects of various monomers on crosslinking efficiency

The addition of polyfunctional monomers when compounding radiation cured polymers increases the crosslinking efficiency of the radiation. Various monomers were added to a flame retarded base formulation to investigate their crosslinking efficiency. These samples were then crosslinked by electron beam irradiation and their physical properties were measured. Variations were noted in tensile strength, elongation, and gel/swell tests. The monomers studied were di^-, tri^-, and tetra-functional, and represented a wide range of effects on the physical properties.