Ethylene–propylene–diene monomer (EPDM) rubber is one of the rapidly developing synthetic rubbers for use as a gasket material in proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell applications. Despite its excellent elastic and sealing properties, EPDM faces challenges such as molding processability and recycling ability. To overcome these challenges, thermoplastic vulcanizate (TPV), which comprises vulcanized EPDM in polypropylene matrix, was investigated as a gasket material for PEM fuel cell applications. TPV showed better long-term stability in terms of tension and compression set behaviors under accelerated aging conditions than EPDM. Additionally, TPV exhibited significantly higher crosslinking density and surface hardness than EPDM, regardless of the test temperature and aging time. TPV and EPDM showed similar leakage rates for the entire range of test inlet pressure values, regardless of the applied temperature. Therefore, we can conclude that TPV exhibits a similar sealing capability with more stable mechanical properties compared with commercialized EPDM gaskets in terms of He leakage performance.

A waterborne fluorinated silica nanoemulsion was developed as a multifunctional additive for transparent automotive display coatings. Aqueous colloidal silica was first functionalized with γ-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (γ-MPS), followed by KPS-initiated polymerization of dodecafluoroheptyl methacrylate (DFMA). The modified silica was blended with a waterborne acrylate emulsion and wet-coated onto PC/PMMA films. Solid-state 29Si NMR confirmed γ-MPS condensation through the formation of T2 and T3 species, while XPS verified the introduction of DFMA-derived fluorinated groups. The optimized coating exhibited a water contact angle of approximately 107°, pencil hardness up to 3H, and visible-light transmittance of about 90% or higher. Fingerprint contamination and wiping tests further demonstrated improved easy-clean performance; the haze of the coated film decreased to approximately 0.99% after only two wiping steps, compared with 1.52% for bare PC/PMMA under the same conditions. After 100 steel-wool abrasion cycles, the transmittance change was limited to 0.4%, compared with 0.9% for the unfilled acrylic coating and 2.7% for bare PC/PMMA. SEM analysis confirmed reduced scratching and surface deformation. These results demonstrate a promising waterborne route to transparent, hydrophobic, easy-clean, and abrasion-resistant coatings for automotive display applications.