Abstract: To improve the stability of waterproof materials, dicumyl peroxide (DCP) was introduced into the high density polyethylene/ethylenevinyl acetate copolymer (PE-HD/EVA) as a crosslinking agent. Effect of DCP on thermal stability and mechanical properties of PE-HD/EVA was studied. The materials were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and crosslinking degree test methods. It showed that with the increasing crosslinking degree, the softening temperature, grain size, and crystallinity of PE-HD/EVA samples were gradually reduced, however, the tensile strength increased. When the DCP dosage was 1.2 wt%, the tensile strength of the sample reached the maximum value and the elongation at break was reduced by 77 % compared with neat PE-HD/EVA.

Key words: high density polyethylene, ethylenevinyl acetate copolymer, dicumyl peroxide, crosslinking, mechanical property