A new method for producing high melt strength polypropylene with reactive extrusion

A high-melt-strength polypropylene (HMSPP) was prepared using a twin-screw reactive extruder from a commercial isotactic polypropylene through two stages, first, maleic anhydride is grafted to polypropylene to obtain a maleic anhydride-grafted polypropylene (PP-g-MA), and then the grafted polymer is reacted with epoxy to extend the branched chain. Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy indicated that maleic anhydride was grafted on polypropylene and reacted with epoxy. Melt flow rate and sag resistance test showed that the melt strength of the HMSPP improved considerably. Differential scanning calorimetry test showed that the long chain branches (LCBs) act as a nucleating agent in the crystallization of the HMSPP, which leads to a high crystallization temperature and crystallinity. Furthermore, the LCB efficiency of the HMSPP can also be calculated by analyzing its rheological property.