Characterization of High Melt Strength Polypropylene Synthesized via Silane Grafting Initiated by In Situ Heat Induction Reaction

High melt strength polypropylene (HMSPP) was synthesized by in situ heat induction reaction, in which pure polypropylene (PP) powders without any additives were used as a basic resin and vinyl trimethoxysilane (VTMS) as a grafting and crosslinking agent. The grafting reaction of VTMS with PP was confirmed by FTIR. The structure and properties of HMSPP were characterized by means of various measurements. The content of grafted silane played a key role on the melt strength and melt flow rate (MFR) of HMSPP. With increasing the content of grafted silane, the melt strength of HMSPP increased, and the MFR reduced. In addition, due to the existence of cross-linking structure, the thermal stability and tensile strength of HMSPP were improved compared with PP.

Neodymium oxide co-catalyzed melt free radical grafting of maleic anhydride onto co-polypropylene by reactive extrusion

Rare earth oxide, neodymium oxide (Nd2O3), CO-catalyzed melt grafting of maleic anhydride (MAH) onto co-polypropylene (co-PP) in the presence of dicumyl peroxide (DCP) was carried out by reactive extrusion. The experimental results reveal that the addition of Nd2O3 as a coagent leads to an enhancement in both MFR and the grafting degree of MAH, along with a simultaneous decrease in the gel content. When the Nd2O3 concentration is 6.0 mmol%, the increment of the grafting degree of MAH maximally is up to about 20% compared with the related system without adding Nd2O3, and the gel content decreases simultaneously to a very low level of about 3%. Attenuated total reflection FTIR (ATR-FTIR) indicates that the gel in the graft copolymers mainly arise from the cross-linking reaction between ethylene units of co-PP. A reasonable reaction mechanism has been put forward on the basis of our experimental results and other mechanisms reported in the literature. We also tentatively explain above results by means of synergistic effect between DCP and Nd2O3, which causes a higher concentration of the macroradical, in particular the tertiary macroradical.

预辐射聚丙烯反应挤出接枝丙烯酸的研究

利用电子束(EB)预辐照方法和反应挤出技术制备了聚丙烯接枝丙烯酸共聚物PP-g-AA.采用化学滴定、红外光谱、偏光显微镜(PLM)、DSC和广角X射线衍射(WAXD)对接枝产物进行了表征.研究结果表明,接枝率随辐照剂量增加而增大并逐渐达到平台值,但随单体浓度增大而表现为线性增加,接枝链能起到异相成核作用,从而提高了结晶速率并细化了球晶.同时,熔体流动速率(MFR)和力学性能测试结果表明,预辐射和挤出过程造成了PP严重降解,据此可认为接枝反应主要发生在聚丙烯断裂分子链的末端.