Santoprene

Santoprene is a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE). Santoprene™ is a registered trade mark of Exxon Mobil. It is the mixture of in-situ cross linking of EPDM rubber and polypropylene. It is supplied as pre-compound material which is able to process by conventional thermoplastic tools. Santoprene is a thermoplastic compound that is processed in much the same way as any type of plastic. The difference is that Santoprene possesses the same levels of flexibility and durability that are commonly found with natural rubber compounds. Because of the longer life of santoprene in both extreme hot and cold environments, the material is often preferred over the use of rubber.

Properties

Its compound is available in hardness grade from 35 Shore A to 60 Shore D. It has good compression set at room temperature and moderate performance at high temperature up to 135 °C. Service temperature is 135 °C (permanent) and 150 °C (temporary). Environmental aging resistance, electrical properties, and liquid resistance are about the same as EPDM and it can replace EPDM in certain applications. It is commonly used in gaskets.

Uses

The material is used for the blades on training knives, swords, and bayonets and also as knife handles because of the superior qualities which allows it to be molded into the blade's tang.

References

• Folkes M.J, Precessing structure and properties of block copolymers, Elsevier Applied Science Publisher

External links

• Santoprene Chemical Resistance at vp-scientific.com
• ExxonMobile Santoprene™ thermoplastic vulcanizate (TPV)