Reactive Grafting of Glycidyl Methacrylate onto Polypropylene

This work explored the melt-phase grafting of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) onto polypropylene on a closely intermeshing corotating twin-screw extruder (16-mm screws, 40 : 1 length/diameter ratio). The modification of the base polypropylene to produce GMA-grafted polypropylene was achieved via peroxide-induced hydrogen abstraction from the polypropylene followed by the grafting of the GMA monomer or by the grafting of styrene followed by copolymerization with the GMA. In this study, both the position and order of the reactant addition were investigated as a route to improving graft yields and reducing side reactions (degradation). For the peroxide-GMA system, adding GMA to the melt before the peroxide resulted in significant improvements in the graft levels because of the improved dispersion of GMA in the melt. The addition of a comonomer (styrene) was explored as a second route to improving the graft yield. Although the addition of the comonomer led to a considerable rise in the level of grafted GMA, altering the order of the reactant addition was not found to contribute to an increase in the grafted GMA levels. However, variable levels of grafted styrene were achieved, and this may play an important role in the development of grafted polymers to suit specific needs. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 117: 2707-2714, 2010