Patent ID: 8658077

Claim:
A water-and peroxide-free process of preparing a crosslinked insulating polymer material, the process comprising: extruding a mixture of a polymer containing carboxyl groups with at least one oligoamine onto a wire or cable, the oligoamine selected from the group consisting of N,N′-bis(2-aminoethyl)piperazine (DAEP), and N[(2-aminoethyl)2-aminoethyl]piperazine (PEEDA), exposing the polymer mixture to a temperature between the melting point of the polymer and 200° C. to crosslink the polymer by amide bond formation to form a solid, crosslinked, insulating polymer material over the wire or cable, wherein the crosslinking of said polymer occurs at a faster rate than the crosslinking of a mixture of the same polymer with an oligoamine that is not said at least one oligoamine under the same extruding and exposing conditions.