Radiation crosslinked elastomers

摘要

Disclosed are radiation-crosslinkable elastomeric compositions containing: (a) an elastomeric polymer containing abstractable hydrogen atoms in an amount sufficient to enable the elastomeric polymer to undergo crosslinking in the presence of a suitable radiation-activatable crosslinking agent; and (b) a radiation-activatable crosslinking agent of the formula: wherein: W represents -O-, -N-, or -S-; X represents CH3- or Y represents a ketone, ester, or amide functionality; Z represents an organic spacer which does not contain hydrogen atoms that are more photoabstractable than hydrogen atoms of the elastomeric polymer; m represents an integer of 0 to 6; a represents 0 or 1; and n represents an integer of 2 or greater. Radiation-crosslinked elastomers are prepared by exposing the radiation-crosslinkable elastomeric compositions to radiation (e.g., UV light) to abstract hydrogen atoms from the elastomeric polymer by the resulting radiation-activated crosslinking agent.